Chuck vs the Mirror
by Jimmy 144
Summary: Chuck and Sarah now as a team go off into the sunset, or not… Post 3.13. Chapter 11 Ending the mission with a couple problems at Castle.
1. Chapter 1 Off into the Sunset

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

Happy that Chuck and Sarah finally got together and acknowledged that they love each other, but then there is no riding off into the setting sun. Or is there?

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
--Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 1—Off into the Sun Set

Everything was working right. Chuck and Sarah were holding hands, swinging them back and forth. Chuck smiled thinking of how it started. The trip from Paris to London had been short. They were both exhausted and fell asleep in their seats. As the plane began its descent, they woke to a view of a bridge over the Thames. Sarah began, "London Bridge is falling down."

Chuck joined in, "Falling down, falling down." They laughed again. It had become a game to see how many kids' songs they remembered and could fit with what they saw. Sarah had won and picked Fish and Chips on the Thames as her prize.

Casey had been their mission planner. He arranged a flight to Heathrow with a lay over and a direct non-stop flight the next day back to LA airport. They had a room for the night at the Ritz. He even had tickets to a play called, "Daisy Pulls It Off."

Chuck and Sarah were in the lead of the crowd coming from the plane. They walked down the hall and followed the exit signs. Chuck got his passport out of his coat and Sarah got hers from her purse. They showed their passports at the counter. The agent looked at the passports under the light and typed something into the computer terminal. He motioned to them to follow the next agent. They just kept walking down a hall from the counter.

Entering a room with ten other men in dark suits put Chuck on the defensive. Sarah pressed her thumb against his hand and then let go. Chuck thought they were not going to have any problems with their passports. He was using his real passport and Sarah was using her Sarah Walker passport. He was sure she had used it before. The men started to close in.

Chuck and Sarah started to move putting their backs together. Chuck noticed a tattoo by a scar on one of the men… a folder showing KIA from the Falkland's… a photo with the man holding a gun at some police… a folder showing training at a terrorist camp. Chuck moved his head and said quietly to Sarah, "This has a certain Ring to it."

Sarah moved closer to Chuck, "You ready?"

Chuck knew this was bad, but he was calm and this was Sarah. The flash came as the others… symbols to Kung Fu… cross stance… crescent kick… He said, "Yes."

The men all stepped closer. The escort pivoted. Sarah said, "Now." She pulled the escort to her and pulled her knee up into his chin. His head snapped back and he fell into the two behind him. She moved to her left and into the next man. He received a combination left hook and right uppercut to the chin. That was followed by three punches to the face of the next man and a high kick to the face with her right foot.

Chuck started with his left hand coming out front and his right hand moving in a fist to his right side. His right foot came up in a swift kick to the chest of the man in front of him. He saw the two in front of Sarah go down from the hit on the escort. He turned right and rolled to the ground under and behind the next man. Coming up behind him, Chuck landed a center punch to the back of his head. The next man was felled with a roundhouse knick to the head as Chuck moved back into position with Sarah. The follow-on attack by the next two men was met with high crescent kicks and continued straight punches. They dropped to the floor. Chuck bent down as Sarah rolled over his back and landed a roundhouse kick to the head of the last man.

Chuck and Sarah turned in unison to join and face the first two knocked down by the escort. They both delivered straight kicks to the chest and both men went down. There was no recovery time as the room was filled by two rows of helmeted uniforms. They all had tactical vests and their pistols at the ready.

Chuck looked at what he hoped was the leader. Pointing to the man with the tattoo, "Cuff him. And lock up the others. Good you got here." His pronouncement was met with a tranquilizer dart. He reached to hold Sarah and saw a dart sticking out of her arm. He tried as fast as he could to get his arm around her and found her crumbling into his arms as he fell to the floor.

Chuck came to first but Sarah was close behind, "You okay?"

"Yeah, you?" Sarah asked.

"Fine," Chuck started looking around. They were tied in chairs next to each other. Chuck tried to stand up but found the chair was fastened to the floor. He could tell that Sarah was struggling against the binds, "Any luck?"

"No," Sarah's unhappy voice sounded. She was looking around the room to see if there was anything. It was a plain room with white walls. The door to the room must be behind them. There were no windows or doors in front of them. The only thing that was obvious was a large screen in front. Sarah heard the door behind them open.

"You could have just given me a ring," the door opened all the way. They heard the door as it hit the wall, next came the footsteps as he walked around in front of them.

Both of them said at the same time, "Cole?"

"You created quite a stir with your entrance. But before we start, you need to see something," Cole pushed a button on the remote he was holding. The screen in front of them came to life. It began with a scene of two people surrounded by many. The two advanced into the crowd and began to take them down. There were several high kicks and punches thrown. The two pulled guns through the progress of the event and began firing. When they were done they had shot each of those that surrounded them. They exited the room and the show ended.

Sarah asked, "Who was that, Cole?"

He answered, "They were a group of our boys that were on to a Peruvian assassin cell."

Chuck felt like someone had hit him. He realized and thought he felt Sarah tense up at the same time that those were the people Beckman was referring to when they last talked. She had said something about a Peruvian assassin cell. He wanted to believe there would be more than one, but then he realized that was as likely as another crossbow assassin from Iceland.

Cole continued, "The assassin's cell was rounded up the night before by some of your people. But somewhere there was a leak. And those two came through." Cole turned back to look at Sarah and Chuck, "From your little exhibition when you came, the airport security people thought it was you two."

Chuck was still upset about watching that scene. It took him awhile before he asked, "When did the assassin team come through?"

Cole looked at Chuck suspiciously, "Three nights ago."

Sarah turned her head to Chuck. She knew he would not want to say what happened that night. She was still having problems with the actions Shaw took. Remembering the helplessness under Shaw's drug was showing on her face.

Cole thought for some reason they had turned on him. Chuck was visibly upset and Sarah seemed to be thinking that she had been caught and there was no way out. Cole moved closer, "Where were you three nights ago?"

Chuck looked at Sarah and thought that she was having problems with this. He thought he had helped her forget the pain, but realized it was still too fresh. Even in his mind, the idea of killing someone was just wrong. He'd spent every night thinking of whether there was another way. But this was going far enough. Cole wasn't going to hurt Sarah with his accusations if Chuck could help it. Chuck spoke with harshness in his voice, "In Paris, you can check with Beckman." Chuck would not give him anything more.

Cole walked closer to Chuck. He bent and looked him in the eye, then walked around him and out the door in the back of the room. The door slammed as he left.

"Well, that went well," Chuck tried to look around the room. There was no one else. Chuck moved as close as he could to Sarah. He said with a raised eyebrow, "We have a problem."

Sarah was a bit amazed, "Oh really?"

Chuck struggled a little with the bonds, "Not these, the video."

Sarah blinked, "Right." Hoping he would understand, she added, "Later," and motioned her head to the corner of the room. She could see a light reflected off a shinny surface.

Chuck nodded, "You still okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she was hoping that he would realize that Cole was not briefed on his new abilities and not to give them away.

Chuck read the silence, "I know." He thought she would be concerned about what Cole knew. He was already trying to think of something to give Cole and still keep him at bay. He knew Cole was good and already knew about the Intersect. But he did not know about Intersect 2.0 and it had to stay that way.

Sarah smiled. She was beginning to realize this wasn't her little Chuck any more. This Chuck was better. He was her Chuck and he acted it. She was extremely happy. It was like the two days they spent in Paris had helped them jell. The tension was gone. They were acting as one.

Chuck turned his head to the left and looked at Sarah. She was smiling. It made him happy and try all the harder. He jerked back and forth on the bonds holding his left arm down to the chair's armrest. It was getting loose. He slammed his arm as far forwarded as he could get it. His hand was free and he could move it to point his fingers at Sarah. He stretched as much as he could and was able to rub the tips of his fingers along her hand. They both smiled bigger.

That ended quickly as the door in back of them opened once again. They heard the footsteps coming from behind and then around Chuck's side. Cole held out his hand and pointed at the screen.

A grey faced man in a bluish grey jacket appeared. He had military looking pockets and buttons with two ribbons on top of his right pocket and gold wings above them. His arms were on the table in front of him with a small laptop in position. His sleeves were ringed by a broad band of light blue with dark blue bands on both sides of that. He announced, "I want to apologize directly to you both." As he was saying that Cole was busy releasing their bonds. "We received the note that you were staying over night just as I was calling your General Beckman. We had a battle over the past few months. I am afraid we lost; our administrative staff was declared redundant. We have several processes to wring out. Again we are so sorry. Agent Baker will ensure you don't have any other problems."

Chuck saw Sarah nod her head and whisper yes, "Please excuse us, but there was a problem with the group at the airport security. The one man with the scar on his neck and tattoo of a dragon is a part of a group called the Ring. They are worse than Fulcrum. I would suggest that you hold him and interrogate him. He may be associated with the source of your problem."

Sarah added, "We would like a copy of the attack on you cell. We'd like to review that again."

The Air Commodore saw that Cole nodded his head to agree. He replied, "First, I'll take that for action and let our counterparts know. For the second, take it as a courtesy in compensation for your discomfort in this event. We'll send a copy over to General Beckman. Would that be sufficient?"

Sarah was all smiles, "Oh yes, and thank you sir."

"Thank you. I hope you enjoy your time here. Good day." The screen went blank.

Cole finished with Chuck bonds. Chuck stood up and was rubbing his arms. His white shirtsleeve had a ring of red. Cole saw that and said, "Pushed too hard to get out, I see. We'll get you a medic to take a look." He went to Sarah and got her arms, "Darling that did not happen to you, did it?"

Sarah decided to end this quickly, "Cole, I was not interested and am still not interested." She saw Chuck looking at her and smiling. He was happy with that. She thought it best that they be crystal clear, "Chuck and I are together now."

"Who would have thought? It's official. Cole Barker loses to Chuck Bartowski," Cole responded sarcastically.

"Right it's official now and it's Agent Bartowski," Sarah smiled back at Chuck.

Chuck kind of laughed and said, "When you meet someone you care about, you do everything to keep them." When he got the surprised reaction he expected, he answered, "Casey showed it to me."

"Well, I can see I Royal… What can I do to get you back on track?" Cole asked.

Chuck went to Sarah and put his arms around her, "We were going to get some fish and chips on the Thames and see a play tonight. We have tickets waiting for us at the hotel. But first we'll need to know what time it is."

Cole looked at his watch, "It's four in the afternoon. You were only out for a couple of hours. I would be happy to take you over to our best fish and chips establishment upon the Thames. I'll treat. May I impose and find out which hotel you'll be at and what play you were going to. I'll ring ahead and make sure you are clear and have no more problems."

Sarah turned her head to look at Chuck, winked, and turned back to Cole, "Sure, we'd like that." She gave him the name of the play and the hotel.

After the exchange, Cole led them out of the building. Chuck saw a map of the building pointing to the nearest fire exits and knew in an instant that they were in the MI6 building. He was beaming. Sarah noticed and had seen him like this before in Paris. While they did not make too many tourist stops in Paris he had to go to the Eiffel tower, and she wanted to see the Louvre.

Before Chuck started asking questions, Cole loaded them into a BMW van. It was a short drive to the restaurant. Sitting in a secluded corner and after a few pints had been downed Cole asked, "So Chuck, don't take this the wrong way, but why are you with Sarah? You were trying so hard to get rid of it, and Darling, I don't mean you."

Chuck looked up from his new pint with a smile, "And please don't take this the wrong way, but don't call me Darling."

Cole laughed, "Okay, okay. But what did happen? You both should be off fighting ten at a time at the day care center, not like this morning."

Chuck looked over at Sarah. She raised her eyebrows that it was okay. He looked at her again.

Cole picked up on the eyebrow dance, "So, you still have it and what?"

Sarah smiled this time, "Well, I think he always had it."

Chuck almost spit out his drink and turned a bright red, "Sarah."

She just smiled.

Cole got out a grunt reminiscent of Casey. He realized the two had truly gotten their act together. He decided to inform them and hopefully get a jump on it. The information would be a part of repayment for the trust that both of them gave him. While he knew the secret of the Intersect, they had trusted him to keep it. Cole looked at both of them and said, "Well, you need to know that we have heard of something called 3.0. While I apologize again for this morning, they thought those in the other video…how shall I say this, may have seen the light?"

Cole held up his pint, "I'll send you a copy of your performance this morning. Compare the two. And then you tell me. Here's to next time we see each other. Arrangements have been made to protect you while you are here. Some changes were made, but I think you will like them. And they are at Her Majesty's expense. Cheers."

Cole saw them to the van. He checked on the driver and said his farewell giving Sarah a small kiss on the cheek before she got in the van. Cole shook Chuck's hand as he got in the van.

Chuck scooted over the back seat to Sarah, "I guess we have no choice but to have some fun at the order of Her Majesty." He kissed her and then started watching out the window as they passed 10 Downing Street and drove to the hotel.

The next morning Chuck was sitting next to Sarah on the flight back to LA. He had her hand in his and felt like this was the best trip ever. He was still struggling over Shaw. Sarah had been helping as they worked through his thoughts about Shaw and Sarah's feelings about Eve once again. He was sure that things were progressing. He felt closer to Sarah than he ever had before. She had been sharing her thoughts in order to help Chuck. He really didn't feel any better about Shaw but he now had real insight into the original Sarah. He cherished that as much as their other experiences.

Chuck knew things were getting interrupted a little, but it worked out. Their cell phones were ringing before their wake up call came that morning. Casey told them they had to stop playing around and get back. He had them on an earlier flight and had coordinated with Cole. An escort was waiting for them in the lobby of the hotel. The dash over to the airport was swift and they were cleared through special security. They made the flight in what Chuck knew had to be record time.

Chuck realized he was staring at Sarah. She looked back at him and smiled. He said, "Last night was great. I know I keep saying that."

Sarah moved closer to him, "Well, it was great. The fish and chips, even with a dash of Cole, were fun. The play was outstanding. I did like ending."

Chuck replied with a big smile, "I liked the ending last night too." That earned him a poke in the arm. "You know we ought to make some memories. Things we'll remember just off hand and that we can share with others; like your smile at the Mexican restaurant on the first night."

Sarah's smile came back, "Okay, and your smile in the picture from Halloween?"

"Yeah, well, but I mean things that we did too. We can certainly say that we went to the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and now a play in London. But can we say we went dancing on our first date?" Chuck thought it would be okay.

Sarah looked him in the eyes. She could tell there was a reason behind this. She wanted to this to work and was trying hard. But she still realized there were things about Chuck she would have to learn, "Why is this important to you?"

"Do you want to know?" he got an 'hmm.' "Do you really want to know?" another 'Hmm.' "Really?"

"Yes, Chuck. Now spill it," Sarah was getting tense.

"Okay, now it seems dumb," Chuck replied.

"What?"

"I was still uncomfortable around Cole. I had a crazy thought that if we had memories…and now even that sounds dumb…that maybe I could tell someone how long we've loved each other and been together. I know," he didn't get any further.

Sarah pulled him over and kissed him. When they broke, she held his face, "I know we need to work on this. I'd like to say we've loved each other the entire time. As you would say, 'cause we did.' But it was so complicated. I don't even know now how to explain it."

"Oh I know. That's why I thought if we could come up with some simple things when we were together. Well maybe it wouldn't be so complicated," Chuck tilted his head as he looked into her blue eyes.

"Okay," Sarah started thinking about it.

"Oh come on. This is supposed to be fun, not planning for another, well you know." Chuck raised his eyebrows. "Come on, name one time we were together and it meant something special to you."

"Wow, besides these last few days and everything that went with them, I guess. Well, there are two that are special. First, there is the time with the burger after the High Reunion. You didn't ask another question. Then the morning after dad left and you came up with a chocolate cover croissant," she smiled very sweetly.

They continued for the rest of the flight, alternately coming up with memories and dozing off to sleep. It was a non-stop flight and seemed to go on forever.

The landing in LA was smooth. Chuck got their bags off the plane and they walked into the terminal. After going through Customs and heading to get their luggage, Casey and Morgan met them.

Morgan ran up to Chuck and almost picked him up. "Did you hear? Did you? I am with you now."

"Hey, yeah that's great," he looked at Casey raising his eyebrows like it was still unbelievable. He heard Casey grunt.

Sarah looked at Casey, "Really?"

Casey shook his head. He got close to Sarah, "Beckman said that if he ever gets in the way or says something he shouldn't, he's off to the bunker or worse. But don't forget without him, Chuck would not have known."

Sarah nodded and held Casey's hand, "We are together now."

"We know. We got the video from Cole. Impressive. Wait until you see it," Casey motioned to where he had parked the Vic. "We have to stop by Castle first."

Chuck was still surprised to see Morgan open the door to Castle. Morgan opened the door and held it open for Sarah and Chuck, "Right this way. You will be amazed. I mean you two look perfect. If this were an Olympic event, your score would definitely be a 10."

Casey came up behind Morgan as they reached the main room in Castle, "He is right. You two are close to a matched set. I don't know what you did in Paris. But we should have had you do it a long time ago. Watch your video." He pushed the play button and the front screen came to life with Chuck and Sarah being led into the room at airport security. The count down clock showed the elapse time and from beginning to end it was one minute 53 seconds.

Morgan announced, "Now this is the scary part."

The screen blinked and the second video started. Their faces were not clear, but it was obvious that ten men surrounded a taller man and relatively tall woman. In the same manner as Chuck and Sarah, down to every punch, kick and counter move, the pair took out all ten. The countdown clock showed one minute 55 seconds. The screen stopped as the pair began their executions.

But came back to life with Brigadier General Beckman on the screen, "Welcome back Agents Walker and Bartowski. I assume you have seen our afternoon movies."

Chuck was not sure what the General would think about Morgan hearing this but thought he better find out more about what they had just seen, "So, does someone have something similar the Manoosh equipment or is there a 3.0 version? And I understand why the guy fights like me, they have the same download version, but why does the girl fight like Sarah?"

"Very good Chuck. We do not know the full answer to the first question. A new version is being built. While it has some additive features, the fighting techniques are the same as you have," General Beckman held up her hand. "Before you ask again, Director Graham was so impressed with Agent Walker's skills in one match that he used them in the module for the intersect. The woman assassin must have downloaded them. We have a serious problem."

_A/N Thought I start a little series with Chuck and Sarah together. Starting it before the next episode means that this will be AU as soon as episode 3.14 starts to air. I have tried to stay away from any spoilers on the next episodes. Only saw the previews after 3.13 and the titles of the upcoming shows. So, we'll be staying from the show. But I am hoping this has enough in it to spark a little interest. Please review._


	2. Chapter 2 the Montgomery

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

Really happy with Chuck vs the Honeymooners. I knew starting this story before it aired meant the story would be AU as soon as the episode aired. So they diverge at the hotel in Paris.

Still don't own Chuck.

There was no riding off into the setting sun. Or is there?

"You saved me."  
--Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 2—the Montgomery

Sarah understood immediately, "They look so much like us. Everyone will be looking for us. And that's the real problem, isn't it?"

Chuck's head snapped to look at Sarah when she finished, "No. We can't do it that way." Chuck realized the General would have them split up. He was going to have to think fast.

"Well, Chuck unless you can come up with an alternative, I'll have no choice but to separate you and let the community know that you are working independently," the General looked down at her papers.

Morgan's eyes got wide, he broke in, "Wait. Wait a minute. They can't be separated, they just…" A trio of 'Morgan' hit him at once.

Chuck took Sarah's hand. He was trying desperately to think of something, "General, I am not sure I understand how this can be a problem or at least yet. We don't know if those two in the video are a team or will stay together," he saw that she had granted him the point with a slight nod. "The real problem is that there could be more. When we broke up the Fulcrum gathering at the theater, there were twenty or more ready to try it."

Morgan was still puzzled and not really willing to give up on being a part of this, "Wait. Okay, different reason." He was looking at Chuck, like he was sizing him up and checking him out. "Didn't you say that this was a special thing? Only a few people can handle this, right? How could anyone get a bunch of people to do this?"

Casey spoke up, "Pardon me." He saw Beckman smile and nod her head, "But Morgan has a point. All those people out at the Fulcrum testing facility and all the students that Professor Fleming turned away. We don't really know if those agents that Roark had at the theater would have made it."

"You are right Colonel Casey. Right now we do not have enough information to make a decision. Chuck, we'll start sending you real time reports. See if you flash on anything that correlates," the screen went blank.

Morgan looked at Chuck, "Does she always do that?"

They all nodded. Morgan shrugged and went back to Buy More to finish the shift.

Chuck spent two hours going through the reports. Nothing triggered a flash. He went to Sarah, "I need to quit and try it later. I'm starting to sleep through the reports. You'd think trying to find someone who is an identical image to us would be easy. Like looking in a mirror."

"What, mirror, mirror on the wall?" Sarah chimed.

"No, that would be Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to work I go," he looked at the surprise on her face. He looked down at the floor, "Sorry, but yours wasn't a song."

"That's fine. Just a thought. I think I have cleaned the same gun twice now. Time to go," she looked at him with concern and a question.

"Oh. Gee, I don't. I mean Morgan is still… we could get," he began, but was met by two fingers on his lips.

"Why don't we stay at my place till we figure this out? I mean, we'll be safer together," Sarah suggested. "And there's a nice big mirror there."

"Right," was the grunt from Casey as he was securing the armory. Casey came out, "And just to be perfectly clear, I am not now and never will be interested in your exploits. And if you ever start going girly feelings on me, because he or she didn't do something, or because they did," that was followed by a long growl. "Just don't. But I am glad you are together, now get out of here before you ruin a perfectly fine evening with a little Neal and Johnny."

"Wow. Thanks for the endorsement Casey," Chuck closed down his terminal. "I do need to stop by the apartment and get a change of clothes. Casey, is it okay if we use the van? I don't have a Herder and Sarah's Porsche is at the hotel," Chuck was reaching for their bags.

Casey opened the drawer and threw Chuck the keys, "Here. Tomorrow, before Buy More opens."

Sarah answered, "We'll be here by eight."

When they got to the apartments, Ellie and Devon were coming out of theirs. Ellie saw them when she came out the door. She smiled. Chuck had been able to get Sarah back. And she thought from the look on their faces, this was it. They were together permanently. She quickly went to Sarah and hugged her, "Thank you and welcome back. You know, he loves you more than anything. And I am so glad it's you."

Sarah melted at the words and the tears began. She wanted a family so much, "Oh Ellie, thank you. You are so good." She hugged her back.

Devon and Chuck were shaking hands in a bear hug. Devon said, "I'm glad Bro. It's good you're back." As they parted Devon added, "Ellie was approved for a sabbatical. We are heading out for Doctors without Borders."

Ellie went to Chuck and hugged him, "Aces Charles, Aces. You did good." She moved back so she could look at him, "I am sorry I did not get to tell you, but I can have a year off and can still go back to USC for the Neurology position. We can leave the day after next and meet up with the next group going with the Doctors without Borders. We are almost all packed."

"That's great Ellie. Congratulations on the whole deal. It's really great," Chuck got next to Sarah after she shook hands with Devon.

Ellie got Devon's arm, "Hey, we are going out for dinner. Do you want to join us?"

Chuck saw Sarah's head move just slightly, "Thanks, but no. I came back to get my clothes."

Ellie's smile got a little bigger, "Well, for sure then tomorrow night. You have to, before we leave."

Sarah happily said, "Won't miss it. What can we bring?"

"Just you. I am so happy. Goodnight," she pulled on Devon and they walked out the courtyard.

Sarah pulled Chuck over, "What had you told Ellie?"

Chuck got the bags and looked at Sarah as they walked to his apartment, "Nothing about our real job, but she did know that… Well, she knew a few things here recently. She had to bail Devon, Casey and Morgan out of jail after the scene at the restaurant. Sorry, about that. Then while I was trying to explain, she said you're special. She told me that I should not stop, not to quit; it's never too far. So, I kept trying." He saw Sarah's look. "Yeah, if she hadn't said that all that followed would have been different or not happened."

Sarah was still sniffling from the hug with Ellie before. It did not stop. Chuck opened the door to the apartment and let Sarah in. After he put the bag down, he got Sarah's hand and hugged her, "You know you are special. I… umm." He did not finish and was covered with a kiss.

The next morning in the bed at Sarah's hotel room Chuck's shoulder was covered with blond hair. He looked over to the bottle of Champagne and the red rose, Roan had been right. He gently kissed Sarah on the head and scooted out of bed. As he was heading to the bathroom, he asked, "Do you really want to do this now?"

Sarah pulled the pillow in and around her head, "Yes, we have to. If we don't do it now, we'll never get the feel of it. Morgan was right. What we did in Paris was good. What we did in London was fantastic. But there are always a few things that can be improved."

In a second he was back at the bed smiling, "You're a hard task master there, Walker. So, what are you expecting?"

"Well," she took a hold of him, "to make you a little harder."

Chuck's face went red. He knew he could not last much longer, "Okay, are we going to do it here or go to Castle?"

"Let's go over to Castle. We can use the video and see where improvements can be made," she tossed the pillow at his face. She scrambled out the other side of the bed and went to the bathroom. When she looked at the mirror and down on the counter, she smiled at the sight of the spent Rocky Roads container. She convinced him she'd won. And with last night she was sure she did.

At Castle she was on top of him, they were both sweating and breathing hard. The second round of their unarmed combat drill was over. The first thirty minutes was spent on a fast paced run. Chuck was still trying to keep up with Sarah.

Chuck had been working out with Casey and Sarah ever since he tried to reintroduce himself in the team. The first month was a buzz saw. He would do the normal exercises he learned in training and then fight Casey. Most often, he would flash and the battle with Casey was generally fairly even. To keep Casey smiling, Chuck always said it was the Intersect that won, not him. But then with Sarah, it had been thrashings. Even when Shaw came, they continued. Chuck would not fight Sarah. She was never happy about it. He knew at the beginning she was still mad at him. And it showed it the punches, kicks, and hits he received. Later it was because Shaw forced it. Chuck always thought Shaw had it in for him. Those sessions became a little structured and were finally turned into training sessions. Sarah took the position with Shaw that if they were to continue and Chuck would not flash, that these sessions would be used to train him in defense and countermoves to use until he flashed.

This morning's session was a fight against the four punching bags positioned in a square. Chuck and Sarah would begin with their backs together. Sarah pressed her thumb against his hand and then let go. Chuck would flash, move his hand and Sarah would call out, 'now.' They would deliver double kicks to the opponent bag and then move to the next bag. Sarah would call out a switch and she would roll over his back and begin working the closest bag. The alternative was her getting down close to the floor. Chuck would then jump over her and start the fight with the next bag. Each round was timed for three minutes.

Morgan entered the room after the last round, "Aw, woman on top, I like it." He immediately saw a knife stick out of the doorframe. "Hum, well Casey said, twenty minutes before the brief."

Chuck and Sarah filed into the main room at Castle. Casey was already sitting at the conference table. Morgan had just got coffee and passed one to Casey. Chuck and Sarah sat at the head of the table. General Beckman appeared in the screen.

"Good morning, lady and gentlemen. First, Chuck did you flash on anything in the files?"

"No Ma'am, but I only made it though the European traffic," Chuck replied.

"We got in a report this morning. There was an attempt to break into the weapons storage area at an Army storage site in Iraq. Terrorist activity was eliminated as the source when we received this video," General Beckman paused while the video played.

The insurgent unit of three shot the front line guards and then got in a mix of close combat and a shoot out with the next set of guards. They got into the storage area, opened two boxes and got something out. On the way back out of the area they took out another set of guards. There was a van waiting for them and they sped away.

"General, I know we'll go over the tape back and forth a million times, but could you back it up just to where they get in the van?" Morgan asked. All heads looked at Morgan. "Please, there was something there. Not the van, but in the background."

General Beckman moved the video back to where the unit was coming out to get in the van. She put it on slow motion. Everyone was looking around the van. Chuck spotted it. He held up his hand, "Stop please." The video paused and everyone saw it. There was a three-man crew on a truck with cameras in place, apparently filming the withdrawal of the unit.

Morgan was first, "They're making an Ad."

Chuck agreed, "Right, trying to sell the capability of their team. Only this team had the Intersect or something like it."

Sarah saw another side of the problem, "So, who would these people be? A splinter cell of the Ring?"

General Beckman commented, "All good questions. Right now we do not know. Start working on it. We all are." The screen went blank.

Morgan quipped, "We'll at least we are off to a good start. The TV still turns off." That earned him a swat on the head by all three. Morgan asked, "Hey, is there anything I can do?"

He got the same all over again, a unified, "No."

Morgan shook his head, "Well, I'll head up to Buy More. See you there."

Chuck, Casey and Sarah began going through the video. Casey looked over at Chuck, "So have you flashed on anything?"

"No. Well, so far there had only been their weird outfits that caused anything. I flashed on their tactical outfits. It was hardly anything stunning. I can tell you where they are manufactured, how many different designs there are, when the last style change was made, and the only thing that is a link is that it is the same manufacturer as the outfits used by the people in London. I have put that into the file I am making. I am just making notes. Here, I'll send you a copy."

When Sarah looked at what Chuck had, she mentioned, "You know the dress shop at that corner." She had a hard time saying it even now. "I mean the corner in Paris. It had the same name, le Patch Anneau"

Casey spoke up, "I thought we already knew it was the Ring."

Chuck looked over at them, "Okay, I know I am still new at being a spy. Well, except for," and he pointed up to Buy More, "but do you think the Ring would have a place that they called, 'Ring Patch?' Doesn't that sound a little too easy?"

"I know. But it would make sense. That could be why Eve Shaw was at that corner," Sarah postulated.

"You think she was going there? That it was what, her target for a surveillance operation, or her meet with a Ring agent?" he saw the last question was a mistake. Chuck went over to Sarah and took her hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way or to bring it… Well, I'm sorry."

"No, we still have to find out what happened to her. According to everything we know, she was investigating the Ring. All those disks that Shaw had came from her work. Someone set her up." Sarah was getting a little tense. Chuck could see it and feel it in her hand. Sarah went on, "I got clear directions to her. She was the target. And I know that if I hadn't done… Well, someone else would."

Chuck was trying to be gentle and still lightly held her hand, "So, let me add a few things. Unless they always film the Red Test," Chuck looked at Casey who shook his head no, "then someone was going to film you and her and then use it for their own purposes."

"And what, Sherlock? You think there is something fishy in state of Denmark?" Casey looked up at Chuck.

"Casey you know how ruthless Colonel Keller was. Do you really think someone in the Ring would wait five years to show the video to Shaw? They could have easily done it the next week, and sent Shaw off to kill Sarah and Director Graham. Right?" Chuck raised his eyebrows at Casey.

Sarah patted Chuck on the hand, "You're right it doesn't make sense. Someone else had it. But why keep it?"

Chuck looked passed Casey at the screen trying to think. He saw the eyes… it was a hard flash… the Fulcrum symbol of the eagle… Roark Industries… the cipher… the drive in theater… Buy More, professional…

"Wait Vincent is one of the photographers," Chuck called out.

"Didn't he die at the Drive-in?" asked Sarah.

"I don't know. I never got to see the after action report. Remember, I did not have the Intersect and well, Beckman would never let me see something after that. Besides, if Roark made it out, why would you not believe the best Mummy of them all could not make it?" Chuck was a bit cynical.

"You think?" Casey quipped.

"But that's him. Have one of Beckman's analytical staff do one of the biometric scans on his eyes. There should be a match," Chuck was now starting to get tense.

Sarah realized it, she could feel it from his touch, "What? What are you thinking Chuck?"

"Okay," Chuck stopped to collect his thoughts. "Okay, the flash tied this to the Intersect. I mean what we were talking about. How about Vincent or who ever he is working for has this tape and uses it to trade with the Ring for information about the Intersect?"

Sarah picked up on the idea, "Casey, how big was the Ring? I mean, did Colonel Keller ever tell you anything about it?"

Casey looked at Sarah and moved closer to her. He looked her in the eye, "No. I have nothing like you want. It was all rhetoric designed to get a young… " Casey saw her reaction and stopped. She understood.

Sarah then started to think, "Okay, five years ago we knew about Fulcrum. Could a stronger Fulcrum have tried to stop a competing organization, the Ring, back then? Would or could they set something up like Eve in an attempt to turn the spotlight on the Ring?"

Casey just looked at her, "So we just shifted from 'what, what Lassie,' to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys?"

Chuck almost chuckled. Sarah poked him in the ribs, "Right, we have a long way to go. But first, we need General Beckman's people to confirm we are looking at Vincent. And see if he was accounted for in the report from the Drive-in."

"Hey," Chuck smiled at her, "that should work."

"I have another thirty minutes before I have to open up. I'll call it in. Why don't you head up to Buy More, so you can get off early?" Sarah smiled bigger.

"Good idea. Don't forget we are going out with Ellie and Devon tonight," Chuck smiled back.

"I know. I wanted to go get them something, and thought you might want to come along," Sarah replied with a smile.

"Of course, I will make sure I get off early. Any idea of what to get?" Chuck asked.

"Not yet," Sarah answered.

Chuck got up, "Okay, we'll get going. I'll try to think of something." He bent over and gave her a kiss.

_A/N Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	3. Chapter 3 the Help

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

Really liked the last two shows. This story is diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
--Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 3—the Help

Sarah was standing in front of the screen. She had just finished recounting the information about the camera crew, "Chuck was certain that he is Vincent."

"I'll have our people check it. At this point it is the best thing we have." The General paused for a second, "You know that after Paris, you and Agent Bartowski still owe me an explanation."

Chuck was just coming up behind Sarah, "I'm sorry General, what explanation?"

Sarah looked at Chuck. She knew what the General was after and she was not going to hide it any more. Chuck's surprise was complete. He would have done anything to avoid this. Sarah held up their hands, "General, we are together now. Boy friend and girl friend exclusively."

"Chuck?" the General asked looking for his response.

Chuck became immediately confident, "Yes, General. We love each other. And," he paused trying to figure the best way of saying it, "she is why the Intersect works."

"What?" the General asked for more.

"Look we both know that for a year it was spotty at best. A few weeks ago, it did not work at all. I had tried as hard as I could to live that part of the spy doctrine, 'Spies cannot love someone.' I had made myself believe it. And the Intersect stopped," Chuck looked down.

"Why wasn't I told?"

Sarah answered, "I don't know. Shaw was in charge. He would… " She saw the General raise her hand. Sarah's mind was racing. She knew there was a problem when the Ring raided Castle, but she thought the Intersect started working again because of something Morgan did. She finally realized that it was her that made the Intersect work.

"Anyway, with a little help from a friend I knew I still loved Sarah and always will. And it worked," he moved closer to Sarah and put his arm around her waist. "And General, this isn't a threat or anything like that. It's a fact. I can't do a thing about it. I love her. One more thing, the Intersect works because of her. And Morgan was right, together we are perfect."

General reacted, "You know this is dangerous, a great risk to you both. Officially, this could cause great damage." Then she smiled, "Personally, it's about damn time." The screen went blank.

Sarah looked at Chuck, "Really."

"Yeah, I knew when Morgan forced me to confront that fact that I still loved you, it was like the Intersect turned back on and I was able to defeat the Ring agents in Castle," he smiled, "with a little help at the end from Morgan. And Morgan is right. I watched their tape and our tape several times. I didn't even think about it. When we fought, I knew exactly what you would do and watching the tape and then this morning's tape. Morgan is right," he kissed her.

Morgan came down the stairs about then, "Hey, excuse me. Sorry. Sorry to interrupt, glad to know I was right. About what?" Seeing no one would answer, "Ah, we have a pretty big line up at the counter and Jeff and Lester aren't due till noon. Buddy, we need you. Sorry."

Chuck got his keys from the terminal he was at earlier, "See, you later. Still thinking. No idea yet." Chuck and Morgan started up the stairs.

"No idea about what?" Morgan started.

"Huh, trying to think of a present for Ellie and Devon's going away. We are going out to dinner with them tonight," Chuck explained.

"Well, I know they have been packing for a week. I can't imagine anything they haven't already thought of," Morgan said.

"Then this is going to be a long day," Chuck shook his head and walked into Buy More.

It was after 1 o'clock and Sarah was heading over to Buy More from Orange Orange. It was raining pretty hard and she ran across the parking lot. She walked into the store at the same time as another. He was wearing a black poncho.

Chuck looked up from the counter and saw Sarah. His smile continued when he saw the poncho.

Casey came up to the counter as the man in the poncho approached. Sarah was walking fast toward them. Casey looked over to Morgan who was standing by Big Mike's office. Casey gave him the sign, pull on the ear, squeeze the throat and pull on the ear again. He was still not sure why Morgan had to have the squeeze the throat in the sign. But he agreed that with all the display racks real signals like at a baseball game would not always be possible. And he still in the back of his mind knew a bullet between the eyes would solve all his problems. But right now he had it under control and Morgan did not have to declare a 'pineapple.'

Chuck got out in front of the counter. Casey took his right side and Sarah was on the left. The man kept coming. When he got to the counter he flipped the poncho over his shoulder and got the clipboard and envelope, "You, Charles Bartowski?"

"Yes," Chuck moved forward.

"Sign this," the clipboard was presented.

Chuck signed it and was given the envelope.

"I am to tell you, 'A present. It has instructions with it. Follow them.' That's all," he turned to walk out the store.

"Great, rain, rain go away" Chuck sang. He turned to Sarah, "Open it?" Sarah nodded.

Casey agreed, "Yeah, but let's go down to Castle." He looked at Chuck, "Castle has better bomb protection than anything around here."

They got to their positions around the conference table. Chuck and Sarah were at the end of the table and Casey was on the right. Morgan came scampering in and sat on the left side. He asked, "What do we have?"

Sarah said, "Feels small and its fairly light."

Casey nodded for her to open it. There was a sheet. In large letters it said, 'Activate. Go to the Aces app.' Sarah pulled out the iPad. Casey hit a switch on the console and nodded again. She activated the iPad and scrolled to the Aces app. Chuck nodded as she hit it.

"Thank you for being so prompt. I assume that we are being recorded, so I will be brief. We now appear to an old enemy coming back into play. If you have not figured it out by now, someone has built the next generation Intersect. The CIA has been calling it Intersect 3.0. But that was their version. The Ring was close to developing a version. Someone was to give them the final details.

"But our old enemy has created the new Intersect. This Intersect is a true next generation Intersect with characteristics that make it a Black Swan." There was a pause. "I am still assessing its characteristics. But the next target will likely be either the CIA or Ring Intersect facility. Either would allow Sark to increase production. They must be stopped." The connection terminated.

The instant the screen came on and General Beckman was there, "Oh good, wait why are you all there?"

Chuck held up the iPad so the General could see, "We just got a call from Dad."

"I thought you could only do internet from those?" She thought a second and held up her hand before getting the inevitable detailed description, "Interesting. The DNI received a threat, more like a ransom note, little over two hours ago. We have now confirmed that MI6 and believe several other Intelligence agencies received the same." She smiled, "Morgan was almost right. The threat contained a video of the attack at the Army Depot in Iraq. It was not used to sell their services but to threaten that noncompliance with their demands would be met by devastating results." The General paused again, "So, what did your dad have to say?"

Casey spoke first, "A copy of the recording is on its way."

Sarah said, "General, Chuck's dad said that their old enemy, Sark, would be going after the CIA Intersect facility or the Ring facility." Sarah looked at Chuck, "Who is Sark?"

"Dad always talked about him as his competition or the enemy. Like Roark, Dad thought Sark stole ideas. In the end and at Roark Industries, Sark and Roark joined. He was the lead scientist for Roark and most likely Fulcrum. But that is a minor part of the problem." Chuck began, "Dad said this Intersect is a Black Swan." Seeing her look he continued, "It would be a leap ahead. Not just the next version with updated intelligence and combat training. This Intersect would have characteristics your scientist would dream about."

Casey added, "Or in this case, would be their worst nightmare."

"We will be putting additional security on our facility. We have indications that the Ring Intersect facility is in France. The threat letter that we got was not very enlightening," General Beckman put the letter on the screen. "As you can see, they may be a leap ahead, but they lack a certain imagination."

The letter on the screen said, 'Send $500B to the account shown below or the active list of agents will be released.'

Chuck asked, "How many people got this?"

"We only know of this letter and the one MI6 got. MI6 believes that the French and the Israelis also received letters," the General replied. The video began to play. It showed the attack at the Army Depot and the speed of the attack.

"So what, the leap ahead has all the world's intelligence and can still kick butt?" Morgan piped up.

"Right now, that appears to be the case. Please get a hold of your dad. See what he has. I am sorry to say you know everything we do," the screen went blank.

Chuck put the iPad back in the center of the conference table and activated the app. When the application opened this time, his dad was showing on the iPad.

Steven said, "I assume that you have talked with General Beckman.

Sarah replied after a pause, "We received a letter that demanded a sizeable payment or the names of our agents would be released."

"So we are clear, my objective is to stop or destroy this new Intersect. Diane and the Government will have to deal with the threat letter. And I don't think there is anything I could do about the letter. Stopping the increase of people with the Intersect is the best move." There was another pause.

"Well, I do not believe we would provide a payment," Sarah provided.

Morgan was confused and spoke up again, "Why would you have to pay the ransom? Chuck, didn't you say that you only flash on people when you have some key to go with it? How could they have a list? Could you go through a phone book and flash on the names that might be possible?"

Chuck responded to the idea, "I don't think that would work. Dad, is that possible?"

"Good. Very good. Morgan, you are right. The original Intersect does not have that capability. And I'll do a little simulation to make sure, but I don't think the new Intersect could have the feature. The processing to make a list in this short a time is beyond what is possible in a human brain." Steven answered with assurance.

Chuck continued, "Well, how could they use their Intersect computer to find out?"

"It would still take a lot of time. In this case processing time. So it would set them back in making new Intersects," Steven concluded.

"But then that could be why they want another facility," Sarah said.

"That makes sense. I'll still go check, but you can tell Diane to slow roll any idea of a payment."

Chuck jumped at the chance to get his dad's attention before the connection broke, "Dad, two more things. First, we have heard the Ring Intersect Facility is in France. Do you have any further information on it? Second, Ellie and Devon are going to join Doctors without Borders for a while. They are leaving tomorrow. They already had a going away party from their hospital and we both miss that. Sarah and I are going out to dinner with them tonight."

"I think you are right. I have been looking at this facility near the Swiss border." A picture was shown on the iPad screen. "I'll send you the coordinates. It has the right characteristics, but you'll have to get a better look." Steven looked around, "I am not exactly in the neighborhood. I'll send Ellie one of these. It will have the same improvements as yours. Got to run." The connection ended.

_A/N My Beta said this was a good ending point. It pays to agree. _

_Don't own iPad. Have one on order like the rest of the world. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	4. Chapter 4 the Eye

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story is diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
--Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 4—the Eye

Sarah had stood up from the conference table. They had just finished relaying the information from Steven to General Beckman. Sarah asked, "General, we should go check on the possible Ring Facility. I would suggest that if we find that it is real, that we destroy it."

"I agree that you should start your plans to get there. But we cannot just blow up facilities in a friendly nation. I'll have our people check and get clearance to be in country. You realized that you would be going in with assistance." The General paused for a second, "I'll be asking for people you know." The screen went blank.

Casey spoke up, "I'll arrange the transportation." He went to one of the consoles.

"Hey, Casey. We really do have to go out to dinner with Ellie and Devon. Please make sure the flight is in the morning." Sarah asked.

"I'll see what I can do," Casey replied.

Chuck looked at Sarah and went to get her arm, "I did think of the present for Ellie. Rain. Rain. Go away…a poncho."

"I suppose you are claiming that as the song?" Sarah asked.

"Well, yes. It's real. You got the last two," Chuck announced.

"The real song would be, 'It's raining, it's pouring, the old man is snoring,' wouldn't it," Sarah had a little pout.

Casey looked over, "Real close to the line. Take it outside."

"What Casey? We are only playing a travel game," Chuck said.

"Whoa, Road Trip. What Slug-bug? That would be fun!" Morgan exclaimed.

Chuck and Sarah shook their heads while pointing at Casey. Morgan raised his eyebrows in understanding.

"Okay, we're out of here," came the chorus from both. Chuck and Sarah headed for the door before Morgan or Casey could say anything more.

Ellie and Devon met them at a quiet little Italian restaurant near the beach. Sitting at a table with a great view Ellie said, "I am so glad we got to do this before we headed out. What are you going to do next?"

Sarah paused before taking her next bite of salad, "Well, you need to know."

Both Devon and Chuck snapped their heads to look at Sarah.

She smiled, "Chuck got a bonus package at work. And the funny part was that Morgan and Casey got one too. We are heading over to France. Chuck got his for the exceptional install work he has been doing lately."

Chuck almost choked at Sarah talking about installs. He knew he had had doing a lot of installs lately, but they had only been for one person. His face became beat red when Sarah grabbed his knee.

Sarah went on to say, "John is going because of his record breaking sales of the Beast Master Barbeque grills. And Chuck and I still don't know how, but Morgan qualified as the top new assistant manager. Pretty nice company."

Ellie agreed, "Wow. Chuck. Why didn't you say something before? This is quite a celebration. When are you leaving? Sarah's going too, right?"

"Yes, I get to go," Sarah kissed Chuck on the cheek. "He said he couldn't get all those installs done without me." Chuck was now a deep red and could hardly swallow his water.

Devon finally realized what was really happening and was trying desperately to hold back a laugh. Then he realized that this was a mission and not a vacation. "Wait, are you going to be okay?" Realizing he was digging a hole and may not have a good explanation for Ellie, he added, "I mean didn't you just get back from the big install in Paris?" Chuck's attempt to finishing drinking the water was for naught as it almost came out his nose.

Ellie had missed the exchange as she was digging in her purse, "Oh, I wanted to show you. Dad sent us this iPad. His note said to make sure I told you we had one. The note said that he had enhanced this one and that it has some special apps." She handed it to Chuck.

Devon relaxed and Sarah kept smiling at the big install comment. Chuck activated the iPad and flipped through the apps. He saw one with Aces and activated it.

Steven appeared on the screen, "Hi guys. I am glad you are together. Ellie and Devon, I am so proud that you are going with Doctors without Borders. That is great."

Ellie replied, "Thanks Dad. You should know that Chuck did good too. He got a bonus at work and is going over to France with Sarah. Oh, Morgan and Casey are going too."

"That's great, son, I'll be sending you some information on good places to stop," Steven smiled. "Now that you both have one of these you can talk to me or each other like we are doing now. Chuck, there are a few other apps that I have for you to download. I think you will find them helpful."

"Sure Dad. Casey is working the flights now. We should be heading out in the morning. I'll get them before we leave," Chuck responded.

"They are something special Chuck," his dad looked very serious. Then his attitude switched, "Wait, I am holding up a happy time. Please enjoy your dinners. I've wired the restaurant to take care of your dinner. Have fun. Proud of all of you. Aces all." The screen went blank.

"Well, I am glad we got to talk with him. It was still typical of Dad that he left so soon after the wedding," Ellie looked down.

"Oh come on Ellie. We don't exactly live in the same house any more. He had to go back to work. And that's not in LA," Chuck said even though he was not sure where his dad was working. Before his training had begun, the General said that it would be better if Steven did not stay in LA. It would be too big a target if someone made the connection between Chuck and his dad. She reminded the team that Orion had been on the run for the past ten years and there were still others looking for him.

Later at Sarah's hotel Chuck and Sarah sat on the bed together and activated the iPad. When he enabled the Aces app his dad appeared, "Sorry I could not tell you at dinner, but I have downloaded a new app on your iPad. It shows as a large eye at the top of a pyramid. When you activate it, the apps will give you a couple prompts and then will allow you to proceed. It will be updates for the Intersect. So Sarah you'll need to be in another room or wear the sun glasses I sent to you hotel room."

Sarah had seen the glasses when she came in the room and wonder how they got there. She did a sweep of the room and had Chuck helping, "Got them. There was two pair on the table."

"Sorry, I didn't leave a note with them. But the delivery method was rather complicated and… well, this was the best I could manage this evening." Steven shrugged.

"That's fine Dad. Happy to know it was you," Chuck replied.

"Son, first we need to talk about this. I believe as I always have that Sark is an evil man. He will attempt anything to gain more power and control. He has no feelings and no morals. He will destroy people at a whim. But right now he is focused and intent on taking over the world's intelligence services. And I believe he intends to eventually take them all. I only say that because I think you are our best hope at stopping him." Steven looked distraught.

"It's okay. I mean that is what we are doing right now. Trying to stop the Ring and others, as Casey would say, for the greater good," Chuck smiled.

"No. Well, that's part of it. But tonight, I am asking you to take another Intersect download. You know that I hate this, but it is the only way I can see to do what we need. It will be bigger and what I am trying to do is match the capabilities that Sark is building." Steven thought for a second and went on, "I talked this over with Diane and explained the plan. And I got her to agree that I can reverse this when we are done and when you and Sarah are ready.

"Son, I know that you have been working to become a real agent, and I am happy that you did. But at some point you need to think about getting out of this," Steven was concerned.

"We know Dad. We have been talking about it too," Chuck replied.

"We were going to keep going as a team. We think we can still be agents and we told the General," Sarah said.

"Okay. I think you'll need to be together for this. And you should know that I'll help whenever I can." Steven paused for a second. "The first update is going to be big. That's why I wanted you back at the room. Sarah, he should be okay. But just like before, it will probably put him out for awhile," Steven cautioned.

"So, any surprises with this one? I mean any new moves?" Chuck asked.

"No. I did not do anything to that side of the architecture. This update is mainly for the data side. The new module has newer data compression and an easier download and subsequently the retrieval system is faster. It should cut down on the time needed for one of your data flashes. It should not affect the combat flashes," Steven explained.

"Then what is the deal with the new version that makes it a Black Swan?" Chuck continued his quest.

"Reports I have are that it is a combination of things. First, this version can be directed and timed. Apparently with preplanning you could select the data package and the combat skills for a particular operation. The data package could include whatever intelligence package was required. So if the target was a building and something inside, the package would only contain the relevant data, not the data on the whole country. Then you could also select the combat skills that were needed. The download would be shorter. It also comes with a timer. So the data and skills are either erased or forgotten. I am not sure which is really true. And those data packages are more user friendly. The eligible group would include people who could score seventy percent on one of Fleming's tests." Steven added, "It does come with a deluxe version, which is what I think we are really fighting. That version has no timer, contains all the data packages and can adapt to Internet data streaming.

"The Internet streaming is really a constant connection with the data base. It has two basic parts to it and both are breakthroughs in their own right. First you've heard of the research that has been happening in brain wave queuing for things like prosthesis. It is a field called neuroprosthetics. In this case, we are talking about a real brain to computer interface. The subject can think of the data needed and it gets transmitted to the central processor from patches on the sides of the head. The search is performed and the data is sent back through an optical patch that is implanted in a new lens for the eye. The images are then assimilated and can be acted on.

"I am still working on that part. As soon as I have it developed, we will talk about it. I think Sark has implemented it and is working through the interface issues." Steven added, "What I have with the iPad is a simpler version of that. There is a special app that will allow you to do a search. You can type it in or simply say what you are looking for. Then the data is developed and transmitted back to the iPad for download. It will display a little red circle like any of the email, text messages or other app with a counter. Open the app again and the download will be ready for your viewing. Since the responses are generally short, the display looks to others as if you are going through your pictures very fast and should have no affect on them.

"I also made a tactical version for short questions and updates. It replaces the waist computer I used. It is the other pair of sunglasses. They have a transmitter. So ask the question and the result is flashed before you on the screen in the left eye. Try it out a couple times tomorrow before you leave. I can send you one for the right eye if that is more comfortable.

"Tonight the data is a high volume download. Sarah will need to wear glasses. Or Sarah, just go in the other room. The download will take 20 minutes. Any other questions?" Steven asked.

"I don't have anything," Chuck said.

Sarah asked, "But why is this going to take that long? The version Chuck has now could not have taken 20 minutes?"

"I guess I should have explained that I found Sark's complete version. Because they are connected to the Internet to get their feeds, I was able to find them. So far, I can only see them virtually. I do not have a real fix on a location. I used that version and made some additional enhancements. So you ready?" Steven asked.

"Wait, I have one question. I know this sounds selfish and I know I just said that we agreed to continue as agents but this sounds a whole lot bigger. It could be something that puts us back to the same place as the original Intersect. I have to say that I am a little afraid of this. How do we get rid of this? I want a normal life sometime, a real house, real kids, real dog and a normal… And I know that you of all people would not be asking Chuck to do this, if there was another way," Sarah was almost pleading.

Steven replied, "You are right. I can't think of another way. I'm sorry. I will promise you that as soon as we are done with Sark, I'll figure out a way to get it back out of him. Like I said I have Diane's agreement too. Is that good enough?"

"Yes," Chuck answered.

Sarah took Chuck's hand, "Yes."

"Call back if there are any problems. Otherwise give me a call in the morning. Night." Steven signed off.

Chuck looked at Sarah and held her for a few minutes, "You want a dog?"

It caught her off guard. She wanted to discuss and analyze everything that Steven had said, and then think about it again before Chuck ever touched the iPad. She replied, "Yes, ever since that night you talked about Peaches I've wondered about it. When I was a kid we only had a dog once, and that was part of the cover for the scam Dad was running on a pet food chain. Yes, I would like a dog."

"I suppose you want everything that goes with that?" Chuck asked. He knew he was getting close and did not want to ask the real question until this was over.

"Yes, all the perks that come with the dog," Sarah replied.

"Okay, we will work on that," Chuck spent sometime just holding her.

Sarah went in the bathroom and began a bath while Chuck started the download. She set a timer on her phone so she would know when he was done and put the sunglasses next to the timer. It was not a relaxing bath. She was tense the entire time. She got out a little early dressed in her pajamas put the sunglasses on and went out with Chuck. The iPad almost sparkled with the speed of the pictures being presented. He was in bed holding the iPad watching the pictures flash past.

Deciding not to disturb his concentration on the presentation Sarah sat at the desk and watched him. She was still concerned. It seemed like it took forever but the iPad finally went blank. Chuck fell back in the bed. Sarah took the iPad from his hand and put it and the sunglasses on the table. Getting in bed beside him, she gave him a light kiss and snuggled in bed with him.

The next morning they got an early call from Casey. Their flight was set for ten o'clock departure from LAX. They would have to rush a little to finish packaging and meet at Castle before heading to the airport. They got there just as Casey and Morgan pulled up.

Chuck smiled, "Carpooling I see."

"Actually I have a driver and a van that should be showing up in a couple minutes. If you have anything to do in Castle you better be quick," Casey responded.

Sarah was already headed for the door, "Come on, you'll want to hear this. We got an update from Chuck's dad last night and General Beckman needs to know that."

_A/N Another good ending point. It pays to agree. _

_Don't own iPad. Still have one on order like the rest of the world. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	5. Chapter 5 First Contact

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 5—First Contact

Sarah had stood up from the conference table. They had just finished relaying the information about the new Intersect to General Beckman. She was starting to get worried about Chuck and the threat they were facing. "General, is there any more information on the Ring Intersect facility?"

General Beckman showed a building designed on the screen, "This is the building from the information Mr. Bartowski provided. We did confirm that the bigger part of the facility is a very large data warehouse supporting Internet mapping. There are offices on this side of the building that are not a part of that operation. I would suggest that you start your surveillance there.

"I did get confirmation that Ilsa Trinchina, DGSE, will be on loan to the French interior service and supporting you for this operation. Please remember that the French Government has approval of any actions planned," the General concluded.

"That reminds me, General, one more thing. Remember Dad said that he thought it would be difficult and time consuming to come up with the list of agents. When you brought up Ilsa's name I tried a little forced flash. I did not find a list of agents. I did find the names of a couple of agents that Ilsa has worked with. So Dad is right, it would be like connecting dots. One name leads to another and maybe a dead end. Sark would be able to reveal a few names, but a full list seems out of the question," Chuck ended.

Sarah realized the consequences, "That means he would have some names to release when the deadline is hit."

The General agreed, "Yes, to the governments involved it will seem that he has the entire list."

Morgan added, "Yeah, it isn't going to help the people whose names get revealed."

Chuck and Sarah nodded their heads. The Casey said, "That's why we need to act fast."

"I agree," said the General. "Check back in when you have made contact with Miss Trinchina." The screen went blank.

"Grab your stuff and let's get going," Casey said as he reached for his bags.

Casey fixed it so they all sat in first class. He had them sitting together, but he still was not sure how Chuck and Sarah sat together and then his seat. Next was Morgan, he wound up with Morgan. But at least with first class they had some separation.

Chuck moved close to Sarah after they took off, "Hey, everything okay?"

Sarah moved over to him, "Fine, everything is good. Are you having any problems with it?"

"Hum, no. I think I am okay. I tried it a couple times, like this morning. It seems easier to activate." He took her hand in his, "I think we will be okay."

"What do you want to do once we get there?" Sarah asked.

"Well, I think it will be morning when we get there. I still think I won yesterday and I would like a French pastry like we had last time. I like the éclairs the best," Chuck was licking his lips.

Sarah agreed. She liked those too. It was fun to have Chuck get a few pastries at the hotel and bring them back. She even remembered the morning of the chocolate covered croissant. She smiled at him. He was making the right choices and being with him was becoming easier every day. She said, "That would be great. I still remember the time you brought those croissants. That was so nice."

"I am glad you liked it. That can be one of our memories, me bringing you a pastry. It certainly is better than me bringing doughnuts to Big Mike," there was a twinkle in his eye.

Sarah looked at him with a little surprise in her eyes, "I thought you said you did not bring him doughnuts?"

He smiled back at her, "That's right. I only brought doughnuts twice. Both times, it was to get him sidetracked. Once was because someone," his head pointed at Casey, "forgot to cover me on one of our little adventures." He heard a slight chuckle. "Saying adventures, we did not get to see much last time we were here. Yes, the Eiffel tower was great and so was the Louvre, but is there anything else we could go see. Like maybe Notre Dame Cathedral or something else?"

"You know this is more of a business trip. I don't think we'll have any time. We are going to go straight to the location. Although, the train ride might be fun, I think Casey got us a compartment," she was still smiling.

"Yeah, didn't you see him changing the reservations as soon as he got in contact with Ilsa? He was smiling the whole time. He got a compartment for them too. Don't think we will ever see them," Chuck was almost laughing.

"Oh, I didn't think we would be looking," her eyebrows went up.

His eyes got big. He only managed to get out, "Right." They snuggled as best they could and fell asleep.

Reaching the airport, they were given special treatment. Casey and Chuck were leery of it until the escort said that Ilsa would be waiting for them at the curb. It was a quick run through the airport. Casey was constantly trying to get Morgan to keep up. Finally, they made it to the exit.

Casey saw Ilsa standing by the limo. Her dark hair flowed around her neck and curled big on one shoulder. Her dress was a light spring sundress that gathered around her waist and as Casey would say highlighted the good parts. Her blue eyes were searching for him as they came out the door. She smiled at the doors opening and the sight of Casey. Casey walked fast to her and scooped her up in his arms.

Chuck was sure that 'Oh Ilsa,' and 'Oh Casey,' were the only noises heard above the din of the traffic. Chuck and Morgan helped the driver load the luggage in the limo. It was a little bit longer before Chuck got Casey's attention and held the door for Ilsa to get in the limo. Her arm pulled Casey in with her. Morgan graciously sat up front with the driver, as Sarah and Chuck joined Ilsa and Casey in the back. Ilsa paused for a moment and explained that they were going to the DCRI headquarters first and then to the train station. On the way to the headquarters Chuck and Sarah kept busy looking out the windows. Casey and Ilsa were still in their embrace.

The doors for Sarah and Ilsa were opened at the same time. Ilsa pointed everyone to the doors. They stopped at the security post. Ilsa looked at the group, "I do apologize. Welcome to France." She looked at Morgan, "You must be Casey's friend, Morgan. I am Ilsa. We had to stop here for some quick briefings. We will not miss the train, don't worry about that. Please sign in and we'll head to the briefing room."

They got to the briefing room and went through a few presentations on France and its laws. Then the room was cleared. Ilsa introduced a Deputy Director of the DCRI and General Beckman appeared on the screen. Pleasantries were exchanged and mission objectives outlined. The Director assured them that the French Government would support the elimination of any Ring operation in their country. The meeting ended and they were ushered back out to the limo.

When they got to the train station not much changed. Chuck and Morgan with Sarah following went to the news stand. Sarah was polite and looked at the magazines. Chuck and Morgan were looking at their normal fare, each getting two, a DC and Marvel each. When it was time to board, they caught up with Casey.

Casey got their attention, "Give me an hour. I'll have swept our room and we can meet there. Chuck, if your dad calls or you do anything else, remember to turn this on. Morgan here is one for your room. Turn it on when you get in the room. See you in an hour."

The last thing they saw was Ilsa's arm pulling Casey into their compartment. An hour later they went to Casey's room. It was a large enough room for everyone to sit at the center table. Casey and Ilsa were on one side and Chuck and Sarah on the other. Morgan had a stool at the end of the table.

Casey began, "I have swept the room. We are okay. One of us will always stay in this room, so it will always be ready for meetings. We won't bother to sweep your rooms."

Ilsa added, "That way you can go to the observation and dining cars if you'd like."

Casey looked at Chuck, "So did you get anything more from your dad?"

"No, we did not check yet. I thought it best to bring the iPad over here. That way no one could hear or see what was on it," Chuck looked at Casey for approval.

Casey said, "Well, first let's get General Beckman on and see if she has any updates." He opened the laptop and Beckman was immediately on-line.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am glad you called in. Miss Trinchina, thank you and your Government for hosting our team. Chuck, you and your dad are correct. Our analysts ran a simulation on the use of the Intersect by Sark. It would not be possible to make a list without complete focus on it and then it would still be a lengthy process. But they did come to the conclusion that he could develop a small list over time." The General shook her head sadly, "You are also right in your other assessment. It would lead to the capture, imprisonment, or worse of the people on the list. Our people have been put on notice, as have those that are working for other countries."

Chuck and the others nodded. Chuck asked, "Is there any other information on his facility? Or his location?"

"We are using the information your father passed to us, but have not been able to isolate him or the facility. We did get a fragment that may indicate two of his teams are headed to the Ring facility in France. The information indicated that they had just left, so we believe that you will be a day ahead of them," the General concluded. "Chuck, let us know if your dad has anything else." Her picture went black on the laptop.

Chuck got out the iPad and put it on the stand next to the window. He activated the app for his dad. The connection was fast and his dad's face appeared. Chuck said, "Hey dad, can you see all of us? We have Sarah, Casey, Morgan and Ilsa Trinchina. She is DSGE and a friend of Casey. We are now in a train now headed for Annecy."

Steven replied, "Ilsa, welcome and thank you for joining. I am still trying to locate Sark. I believe he is always in transit. I have not been able to keep a lock on him. I have been able to determine that there is increased activity at the Ring facility. They may be preparing for you or Sark. Be careful."

"We will Dad. Anything else?" Chuck asked.

"Just a file for you to look at when we are done. I would think about a ten minute read using the iPad," Steven finished.

"Okay, thanks. And we will be careful," Chuck ended the connection when his dad did. Chuck looked at Casey and then Ilsa, "Why don't you go grab something at the dining car. Sarah and I can stay here for a little. Morgan, you should probably go too."

Casey nodded. While he wished he could figure something else to do with Morgan, maybe hang him out the window, he knew that Chuck needed to be alone for the ten minutes that his dad talked about. Casey got Ilsa hand and said, "Come on let's grab something while we have a chance."

Ilsa and Morgan followed Casey out of the room. Chuck and Sarah went over to the bed and sat back on it. Chuck opened the app for the Interest. This time the display showed a clock with a ten minute estimated download. Chuck looked at Sarah, "Well, that's helpful. Did you bring your glasses?" Sarah pulled them from her blouse. After she put them on, Chuck said, "Activating."

The download was done in precisely ten minutes. Chuck immediately leaned back and was out for a half hour. Sarah sat beside him and held his hand. She decided that she would call his dad and see what was included in the latest download.

"Hi. Sorry to disturb you," Sarah said when his face appeared.

"No problem at all. Is everything all right?" Steven asked.

"I believe so. He took the download and is asleep now. I think he is alright," Sarah was a bit flustered. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to know what it was that he downloaded."

"Oh gee, that's my fault not yours. I should have said to call back. Next time I'll put a note with the timer so you know what is in it," Steven looked sorry. He saw that Sarah was still holding Chuck's hand even through their discussion. He was happy. "I finally got the piece of the program from 2.0 with the combat scripts. I fixed it so it will flash faster. So it should take half the time for the file to be useable. But even with an iPad that still took ten minutes to download. It probably got to Chuck because it affected so much of the architecture backbone. It would be similar to a reload. That's why he'll be out for a little. Since you are headed to a mission now, I'll make sure none of the future downloads will do that to him. He might be slightly disoriented for a few seconds. But for now, if he does not wake up within half hour call me back."

Sarah smiled at Steven a little, "Thanks so much for what you are doing. And thanks that helps me understand."

"Okay, you guys take care," Steven reached to disconnect at the same time as Sarah.

It was another ten minutes before Chuck woke up. He looked up at her, "Hey, you okay?"

"I'm sorry. I did get a little worried and called your dad. He explained what was in this package." She went on to explain what Steven had said. When she finished, there was a knock at the door and Casey and Ilsa were at the door. Sarah, said, "Come in, everything is fine."

Chuck and Sarah left and went to the dining car. They took a few tips from Ilsa and had a wonderful meal. They met Morgan in the observation car and watched as the train passed through the beautiful countryside of France. While Morgan stayed in the car Chuck and Sarah excused themselves and went back to their room.

The next morning the train pulled into the station at Annecy. They split and got cars at separate rental car agencies. Casey and Ilsa got a van, Morgan went with them. Chuck and Sarah got a Peugeot 207cc convertible. They drove up A41 to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois area to the small village of Thairy. Cruising past the target Chuck remembered the layout of Roark Industries. This building was impressive with spokes out the back end of the center round building. Then he saw across the parking lot another building. It was square and about the same size as the round structure. Chuck now called it a mini flash, but the building was a Ring facility. There was no question.

Chuck called into his watch, "Everyone the square building is the target. Let's go back and meet at gas station we just passed. Ilsa, you should call this in."

Meeting back at the gas station, Chuck got out the iPad and hit the app for the Intersect. He called out his search with the address and description of the building asking for all information and a composite drawing of the building. The reply came within the minute and several pictures were shown ending on a drawing of the building. Chuck's comment after the download was, "Wow, that was sweet." He figured he might as well go all out and asked for the composite drawing to be downloaded to the sunglasses with taps on all surveillance. Before he put the sunglasses on, he sent the composite to the bigger display they had set up in the van they rented.

They studied the drawings and Chuck and Morgan saw it at the same time. There was a conduit with annotations showing fiber optic cable running from the Ring building into the data center. Chuck was also able to use a mini-flash to identify the room with the information on Sark's Intersect. When he put on the sunglasses, he realized that he was getting continuous feeds from the buildings surveillance cameras.

When Sarah and Casey noticed the expression on Chuck's face, Casey nodded to Sarah to take Chuck out of the van, "Why don't you and Chuck take a break for a minute?"

Chuck looked at Casey and then Sarah and realized it would be a good idea to get a little better acquainted with the sunglasses. He stepped out with her.

Sarah asked, "Are you having a problem with the glasses?"

"No, they are just a little more than what the first couple runs were like. I have a constant feed," he pause a second. Then he began with a command and a brief pause between, "Show second floor, room 205. Show full view. Show positions of people in the building. Monitor calls and data transmissions and display activity. Go back." He took the glasses and gave them to Sarah, "Here look at this."

"You sure?" Sarah took the glasses.

"Well, just look at this display and give them back. It will give you an idea of the glasses can do," he was waiting for her reaction.

"Oh, that is great. You can see all of their positions." She turned around with the glasses on, "And they don't really block the normal view that much. Can we ask your dad to get us a pair?" She handed the glasses back.

"Sure we'll ask. How about we walk around a bit? I'll check these out as we go," Chuck took Sarah's arm. They walked around the car and the van a couple times.

Chuck and Sarah went back into the van. Chuck got the display with the people's position to display on the screen. Ilsa had got agreement from her Government to assault the facility. Chuck pressed and got agreement to go in tranq guns blazing. The plan was to get the information from room 205 and hold the facility for at least ten minutes, by then the France military from a nearby post would have helicopters and backup in the parking lot. Casey and Sarah agreed that Morgan would stay in the car and help with communications. The four of them would use tranquilizer guns but they forced Chuck to take a SIG SP2022. The other three would have their favorites with them.

They drove over to the parking lot in the van. Chuck, Sarah, Casey and Ilsa got out with brief cases and approached the building. They would present themselves as representatives from a company looking for the datacenter offices. Morgan stayed in the van to monitor their communications and the surveillance.

_A/N Another good ending point. It pays to agree. _

_Don't own iPad. Still have one on order like the rest of the world. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	6. Chapter 6 the Key to Sark

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 6—the Key to Sark

Morgan was monitoring their progress. His display showed the map of the facility and the latest download of positions of the Ring agents. Chuck had fixed the iPad so that it could receive the same information as his glasses and in turn display it on the van's screens. Morgan could see Chuck, Sarah, Casey and Ilsa walking with their briefcases to the front of the building. Morgan spoke into the mic, "I have you all, looking good."

That was met by a chorus of, "Morgan!"

"Okay, comm. checks," Morgan sat back in the seat.

Ilsa went to the counter, "Le bon jour, nous sommes ici de voir les bureaux de centre de données." Casey moved to the side of the counter. Bringing his hand out of his coat pocket, he used a tranquilizer dart on the receptionist. The receptionist fell back in his seat.

"Go, go," Casey said pointing at the keypad on the door beside the counter.

Morgan hit the pause button as soon as the three got to the front door. He called out from the van, "Feedback loop is set and started. We have ten minutes in the loop."

Chuck went over with Sarah to the door. He studied the lock. Chuck flashed on the pad, "Casey, I need his hand print."

Casey looked at Chuck with the growl coming to the surface. He picked the receptionist up and carried him to the keypad. "We better not have to do this at every door." They pressed his hand against the door pad.

"No, this should be it. See," Chuck said as he pushed the door open. "The stairs are to the right." Casey went through the doorway first with his gun out. Ilsa and Sarah were next. They held their guns pointed up in a ready position. They waited and went down the hall with Chuck leading. "Okay, this door opens to the corner stairwell. Then, it should be back the same path on the second floor to the offices."

Before they opened the door on the second level, Chuck said, "Show positions. Okay, no one in the halls."

Casey carefully opened the door on the second floor. He checked both hallways and waved them on. Chuck hurried down the hall to the room that was the first target. Flashing on the keypad, he opened the door.

Again Casey went first followed by the girls. They spread out in the office and Chuck entered the room. He closed the door behind him.

The room was a nicely appointed office with leather chairs, big oak desk in the center and windows over looking the parking lot. Chuck looked at the picture on the wall of the Arch of Triumph and went to it first. Sarah checked along the edges of the picture and found an access switch. When she flipped it, the picture frame swung out from the wall. There was a safe as big as the picture. The safe had a normal tumbler and Sarah went to work. Chuck flashed and wrote down the combination. Sarah used that and opened it to find a stainless steel box inside. The box had no visible keyhole or hinges.

Casey grunted, "Get it. Seven minutes on the current loop."

Sarah slipped the box in her briefcase.

Chuck asked, "Give me a second." He looked around the room one more time. Nothing caused the Intersect to flash. He shook his head no. Then as he was heading to the door he saw a lanyard with a whistle at the end hanging on the hinge of the door. It did not fit with anything else in the office. He picked it up and put it in his pocket.

They were out the door and heading back to the stairwell. Chuck said, "We are clear down to the back corner stairwell. There are four people in offices off this hallway and they appear to be at their computers."

They moved quickly down the hall and into the stairwell. When they got to the first floor, Chuck nodded, "Okay, everyone is still busy. We want the second room on the left. That should be the main servers."

The keypad was similar to the one upstairs. Chuck flashed again and entered the numbers. Once inside Chuck pulled out a laptop and connected it to the server bank. He started up his program and hit run. He held up his hands with six fingers showing, to tell them the download time. The laptop was transmitting the access codes of the servers and their data packages back to Castle and General Beckman's analysts. It was an easy job as the system used the reverse of the Ring setup. The data was sent back out the fiber optic links to the data center next door. Chuck thought they were transmitting at an extremely high rate, but was still amazed that it would only take six minutes. With the data safely stored in the next buildings, it would be transmitted over available lines to the final destination. Casey, Sarah and Ilsa planted the charges around the room and on the back of the servers. Casey called out, "Set." There were now ten minutes until the charges would explode.

Morgan called back to them, "Two minutes on the loop. Standby, oh crap. Hey everyone two, now three vans just pulled into the parking lot. Several ninja types are getting out with some serious firepower." There was a pause, "Wait, there's no vans on the back of the building. This must be a frontal attack. Hey Chuck, just like COD…."

A chorus of, "Morgan."

"Well, take the back door and get out. It won't really matter if there is an alarm," Morgan replied.

"Alright Morgan, now listen. Once those guys are in the building, pull out of the parking lot, head west, away from the mountains, and turn right at the next street. We'll meet you about one block up that street," Casey said. Then he growled, "Got it?"

"Yeah Casey, I got it. Waiting," said Morgan.

They came out of the server room and went down the hall just a little. Casey went to the back door and pushed it open. The alarm sounded immediately. They went out the door.

Chuck said, "They are all moving now. Ninjas coming in the front. Morgan cut the loop; let them see what is happening. They might have a chance." Chuck paused and stopped running with the others. He shook his head and took the glasses off.

Sarah went back to him, "Chuck, are you okay?" She out her arm around him.

"Yeah, didn't need to see that," he took the glasses off and put them in his pocket.

Morgan called out, "Okay, they are all in the building. I am moving now." He pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the street. There was a quick u-turn as he headed back West away from the mountains.

Chuck and Sarah caught up with Ilsa and Casey. They were standing at the curb when Morgan pulled up. Morgan opened the doors of the van and they all heard the explosion. Ilsa took a phone out of her bag and called in the results. She was assured the assault team would be there to clean up.

Casey said, "Let's head to Lyon. We should be able get a room and check on flights for tomorrow."

Chuck smiled at Casey. Nodding, "That sounds like a good plan."

They went back to the gas station and got the other car. Chuck with Sarah in agreement let Casey and Ilsa have the Peugeot. They had Morgan drive the van and got in the back.

On the way to Lyon it took some effort to keep Morgan from starting a road game. Chuck finally found his PSP and after switching drivers let Morgan play.

And then not even a mile later, Sarah saw it, a sign for curds, cheeses, and fresh milk. She started, "Little Miss Muffet."

Chuck quickly held up his hand, "Sssh, remember." He pointed at Morgan who was playing with the PSP. "And what would you like this evening, Mademoiselle?" Chuck smiled back.

"Some strawberries and chocolate, and you," Sarah said with an impish look.

Chuck blushed a little, "Be more than happy to make your wish come true."

"Hey, I thought we weren't going to play any games. What about…"

"Morgan!" echoed in the van.

When they got to Lyon and into a very nice hotel, Casey swept Chuck and Sarah's room first. He gave them the clear sign.

Sarah said, "Should we call General Beckman?"

Chuck held up the box, "Let's see if we can open this first."

"I haven't seen any openings. How are we going to get it open?" Morgan asked. He had been studying it between games on the PSP.

Chuck got the whistle out of his pocket, "How about this?" He blew on the whistle and while they heard nothing, the top of box lifted from the sides. There was enough of an opening to pull the top off of the box. There was a disc in the box.

Chuck thought for a second, "We should call Dad about this. I wasn't exactly expecting a map, but this could be more than we… well could handle."

Sarah asked, "Do you think it could be another?"

"I don't know it could be a bigger version of what the Ring had before or… Well, that is the problem, I don't know. Let's get Dad up on-line and go from there," Chuck concluded.

Casey questioned, "What about Beckman?"

Chuck looked over at him. "I'll have more information for her after I talk with Dad." He shrugged his shoulders looking at Sarah. She nodded.

Casey grunted in approval.

Chuck got the iPad set up. His dad came on the screen. Chuck started, "Hey Dad. We made it out of the Ring facility just as Sark's men were attacking. The server bank was blown up and Ilsa's assault team was going to secure the building. Dad, we were able to get a box from the safe in the main office. The box contained this disc. What we should do with it?"

"I've seen those before. It is like a Blu-ray disc. It will have its own program, just like a Blu-ray, and then the show will start. Why don't you connect this iPad to your laptop and then insert the disc? I'll be able to control the interaction. And, Son, it would be best if it was you and Sarah with her glasses on when we did this," Steven said.

"Will this be dangerous?" Sarah asked.

"No, it shouldn't be. Chuck should be okay," Steven said.

Chuck started getting the equipment ready. Casey said he would sweep the next room while they got this done. Ilsa went with him. Sarah suggested to Morgan that he should go with them.

Chuck sat at the table where everything was connected. "I have it ready," Chuck said.

Sarah came over and ran her hand through his hair. "I am not going to ask. I know. There is no other choice. I just have to say it. I love you. And I do want the strawberries and everything that goes with them." She put on her sunglasses, "Ready."

Chuck hesitated. There was serious thought of getting the strawberries that very second. But when she put her hand on his shoulder, he knew to continue. He launched the disc. The show started immediately. He was watching the display on the laptop. The iPad was displaying the same pictures and transmitting the series to his dad's computer for analysis.

The picture show was relatively short, only ten minutes. Chuck leaned back in the chair. And then his head bent down. Sarah moved around to looked at him. His eyes were closed. The download complete. She put her hands around him and held him. It was another ten minutes before he came around. Sarah was still holding him.

"Chuck, are you okay?" Sarah put her hands on his face. "Chuck?"

"Oh, sorry. Thinking of those strawberries," Chuck smiled.

"Well, me too. But we still have to call Beckman. She will want to know whether it had anything on Sark." Sarah said.

The flash started. It was Sark's name that did it. The download provided new information. That was combined with what was in the Intersect already. Chuck shook a bit and leaned back again.

"Okay, got some more background information on Sark. But more importantly, the information in the flashes shows his location. It was the key to finding out." Chuck started to sit up again, "Okay, let's tell Beckman and order those strawberries."

While Chuck got the equipment set up, Sarah got Casey. They came back and waited for Chuck to complete the connection.

"People, good to see you. I have reports that the French forces completed the arrests of twelve men. There were several fatalities in the facility," she waited for a response.

"General, Sark's men were killing the Ring agents as they came upon them. I saw one of the groups go down. They had no chance. It was men and women in lab coats. They had no weapons," Chuck hung his head.

"Yes, very well. What other information do you have?" the General asked.

"I know Sark's location. Or at least part of his location. We were able to get a disk, which the Ring built. It has pointers to his location." Chuck was trying to figure out how to explain this.

"Well, do you have his location? We can have a strike team in minutes, anywhere in the world. Where is it, Mister Bartowski?" General Beckman was getting closer to the screen.

_A/N Another good ending point. It pays to agree. _

_Don't own iPad. Still have one on order like the rest of the world. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._

Translation of Ilsa: "Good day, we are here to see the data center offices." Or at least that was what I was trying for.


	7. Chapter 7 Modification

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 7—the Modification

"I know Sark's location in cyber space," Chuck tried to keep a straight face.

Morgan came in the room. Pulling up a chair to the screen caused a scrapping noise on the floor, "Morgan!" responded in the room.

"Chuck, this is not a video game. What are you talking about? This better be good," the General's face now filled the screen.

Casey growled, "Right."

"I think I can identify him through the Intersect and his IP address. But I don't think I can keep a lock on it for very long using just the glasses," Chuck sat back. "I sent my dad the information to make the modifications. I'll need Devon to put them in place. They are the implants. With them I should be able to determine Sark's location, and get his real IP address. Right now, using the computers we have, he is too fast. He can mask and switch his address and we'll never know if it is right. We don't have enough people to do that many raids. But with the modifications, I am sure that I can get it."

"That's so cool! You'll be in the computer. Wow, you'll be the computer," Morgan was beginning to understand.

"Morgan!" this time the General joined the chorus.

"How long before this is ready to go?" the General asked.

"I don't know yet. I have not seen any reply back from my dad," Chuck answered.

"Let me know," and the screen went blank.

"Not one for asking about how the trip is going, is she?" Morgan commented.

"Chuck, can we talk about this?" Sarah asked.

"Over some Strawberries and Chocolate," Chuck held up the plate that was delivered while he was hooking up the video.

Casey grunted, "Been busy, haven't we?"

"Yes Casey. Now if you and Morgan don't mind, I would like some time with Sarah." Chuck announced. Casey and Morgan started out the door. Chuck went to the door with them.

Casey moved closed to Chuck's face, "Look, I know you are doing the right thing for the country, but think about her."

Chuck was taken back at the comment. He hadn't heard Casey say anything like that in a while. The last was his comment before they went to get Sarah in Paris. But as Chuck thought his face showed the beginnings of a smile. Chuck knew what he needed to do, "Casey, you are right. I need to talk with Sarah. But I need you to talk with Beckman. There is still a good chance Sark is in France. We need Ilsa with us to coordinate support. She'll learn about us, but I trust her. If you think it is okay, I do want her along."

Casey grunted and closed the door.

Chuck turned to Sarah and held out the plate again, "Strawberries and everything?"

The next morning Chuck got the phone, "Yeah, sure Buddy. Give us another fifteen and come on over." He hung up the phone. Sarah was brushing out her hair. Chuck saw her look at him, "Morgan. He'll be over in a few."

Chuck got over in back of Sarah. He moved her hair aside from her neck and kissed her neck and shoulder. "You know I could call him back and tell him to wait."

She reached around and kissed him, "Yes, but then we wouldn't get to see him try to get Casey."

"You're right. I'll be dressed in a minute," Chuck laughed.

Chuck quickly got shirt, pants and shoes on.

Sarah was right. They hid around the corner and watched as Morgan went to Casey's door. They saw the hand come out of the room and Morgan's head snapped back. They heard, "Right, Sugar Bear needs his rest."

Chuck looked at Sarah, "You want a chocolate croissant? We got time." Sarah got his hand and pulled him back to their room.

An hour later, Casey and Ilsa were at the door of Chuck and Sarah's room. Morgan was behind them. Chuck swept his hand toward the room, "Oh please, join us Sugar Bear."

There was a growl coming from Casey. Ilsa kissed his cheek and they came in the room. Morgan was nursing a red eye, "You know you could have put out a do not disturb sign."

"We did," She pulled the card from the back of Chuck's door, 'Ne Pas Déranger.'

Chuck smiled, "So what, you thought it meant, No Derringers?" Morgan nodded and Chuck started laughing.

"Okay, now that we have our little language training done, what did you decide?" Casey asked.

Sarah motioned for everyone to sit. She said, "We talked about it last night. We agreed that he would go ahead with the procedure. When we have taken care of Sark, he would have it reversed."

Casey grunted acceptance. "So, we head back this afternoon. Flight is through Rome to New York and then LA. I have it fixed for Ilsa to come along. We need to leave in an hour."

"Meet you in the lobby. We have to pack," Chuck pointed to their closet.

Casey grunted and headed out the door with Ilsa. Morgan asked, "So, before you get it reversed, can we at least try some video…"

"Morgan!" they pointed to the door.

They met in the lobby and got in the van. Casey drove to the airport. There were no problems getting through security. The flight to Rome was a simple one. Chuck and Sarah watched out the window and saw the Coliseum. They had to go through security again and lined up two by two.

Chuck couldn't help himself. He smiled and leaned over to Sarah, "The ants go matching two by two, hurrah, hurrah." He was almost laughing at the line.

Sarah pulled him close, "Remember, Morgan is right behind us. You start a travel game with him and you can forget…"

Chuck almost froze, "Of course," he stopped laughing, "but since we are not going to get to eat here, I would like a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant."

"Umm, that does sound good. Let's try to get away for just a little when we get back. I know we had last night, but I still would like to have a night for ourselves before…" Sarah felt her hand being squeezed.

"I do too," he got out before the flash. "Careful, I am going to try something. The four people waiting to go through the screening are Sark's agents." Chuck put on the special sunglasses and began typing on his wrist computer.

Sarah watched him. She knew he was getting almost constant downloads. His commands were going at a rapid rate over the wrist computer. She heard him say, "Display. Activate. Alarm." At the same time tactical squads of Italian police moved in around the screening area. They lead the offending people away with precision. There were no further disruptions and the line was diverted to another screening area.

When they got to the waiting room for boarding, Sarah got close to Chuck and whispered in his ear, "What did you do?"

Wrapping his arms around her, he replied quietly, "Rather than confront them in a busy airport, I did the next best thing. I used the Intersect to find their pictures, tagged them as terrorists and sent them to the displays for the guards at the airport. I did find that they have facial recognition software here, so I activated it. Not knowing how fast the security at the gate could get additional support, I turned on the police alarm. I think it worked rather well." He held her back and smiled.

"Wow, so this is what you expect?" Sarah's eyebrows went up.

"Kind of, but it will be better and worse," Chuck replied.

"What?"

Chuck pulled her close, "He could do the same. So I am guessing, but it must not be working for him. But I don't think we have much time. If it was working he could have trapped us at security, as easy as we did his people. You have to get me time when we get on the plane. I am going to use the iPad and the crew will see me. I need time to use it before the crew asks to turn off electronic equipment. They always ask to turn off the electronic equipment when the doors close about the same time as the cell phones. We need them to keep the plane's door open until I am done. Okay?"

"Sure, I can do that," Sarah knew that their seats were in view of the door. So she would be busy at the door until Chuck gave the go ahead. It should not be a problem.

It worked Chuck was waving at Sarah and she went to her seat next to him. He had closed down the laptop and was smiling. She leaned next to him, "What did you do?"

"Oh, some of my old high school tricks. I switched the names around. In the records, we are not on this flight. I put us back in Paris. It should give us enough time." He smiled at her and then took her hand. "But I told Dad to be ready when we land. I don't think we have any more time."

Sarah put her other hand over his. She nodded and then leaned over against him.

He lightly kissed the top of her head and said, "It will be okay."

Getting off the plane at LAX, they picked up their bags. Steven had pulled up in a van just as they got out of the terminal. Chuck and Casey got the back door and piled their luggage in the van. Casey introduced Ilsa and helped her into the back of the van and climbed in beside her. Chuck helped Sarah into the middle and got beside her. Morgan went up front with Steven.

Steven pulled away from the curb and headed out of the airport. He began, "I have Devon set up to do this at Castle. Remember the main difference." He paused and looked in the mirror at Chuck. He nodded okay. "The difference is Internet streaming allowing a constant connection with the data base. I have been working on the back end, to speed up the collection of the information and the formation of the data packets for the images. The images are now complied at a rate that is hundred times faster than the old system. For the first part of what you'll get, we have four neuroprosthetics discs that will go beneath your scalp. I can tune them so we will be able to pick up your signal. I do have one enhancement that should help. I developed a software package to test the interface and help you with the connection. It will be installed as an Intersect package. You can activate it as soon as the procedure is complete. You should be able to perform a search then data will be sent back through an optical patch that will be implanted in a new lens for your left eye. The lens is adjustable and we'll be able to fix it for you."

"We do have one complication," Steven paused. "Devon said that Ellie would be better at this. She would be able to determine better were to place the discs. He agreed that he could slip the discs under your skin, but to have the best reception, Ellie would need to do some scans. He kept reinforcing that he was a plumber, not an electrician."

Chuck could tell this was going to be the big one, "What happened?"

"We talked to Diane about it. She agreed. Ellie was the choice." After letting that sink in Steven said, "We brought Ellie down to Castle. Diane did the best General officer speech I have ever seen. She spent an hour going through in detail what happened to you and the role Sarah and Casey had in it. She reinforced the decision to keep Ellie out of the project for her protection. She also explained that Devon and Morgan knew about it after stumbling on to ongoing missions. And she went a little further than I would have liked. She explained a little of my part in this."

Chuck was almost in a daze. He could hardly believe it had come to this after all he had done to keep Ellie out of it. "How did she take it?"

Steven shrugged, "I think not making those pancakes will be the least of our worries for quiet a while."

"That bad," Chuck asked and saw his father shake his head, yes.

When they got to Castle they came in through Orange Orange. Ilsa did not say anything, but was taking it all in. She looked at Casey, "Very impressive. Your own little sugar bear cave."

Chuck heard it and started to laugh until he saw his sister below. He could tell at a distance there was a bear in this cave. She was ultra mad.

They got down to the main level and Ellie stepped up to Sarah, "Do you love him?"

"Desperately, with everything I have," Sarah's eyes were a bit misty from thinking about what was going to happen.

"And you still agree that he has to do this?" Ellie asked.

Tears were starting to come down her cheeks, "Yes. Chuck has to fight something that is pure evil. The enemy, Sark, kills without mercy and only seeks to dominate. We don't have a choice. Please help us." It was the conclusion they reached the night before.

"El, I need your help on this. Please forgive us for everything that we did before. We could not tell you. It was for your protection. Like the General said, Chuck and Sarah had been fighting some very nasty people. They have protected you numerous times and now need your help," Steven concluded.

"Ellie, it isn't the same as in third grade when I was fighting a bully. This man is terrible. He has to be stopped. I think we are ahead of Sark right now. He hasn't sent anyone against us yet which means I need to do this now. I need your help to do it. But if you don't, then I have to get someone else. It will slow us down, but I have no choice." Chuck reached for her hand, "Please forgive me for keeping this a secret from you. But now we need you to help to protect everyone."

Ellie set herself directly in front of Chuck, "I don't understand how you can know all these secrets have all of this and I am the last person to know. I thought that I knew you better than anyone."

Chuck shook his head just a little, "But like we have said, not telling you was the best way to keep you safe."

"Okay, I'll do it but then you're done. That is it." Ellie was staring into his eyes, "I made a promise to protect you." She looked briefly at her dad and then back to Chuck, "And I intend to keep it. But I can't do that if you are running around as a spy, or worse with what we are going to do to you. You will be a target, just like Sark is right now."

"Ellie, I want the same thing. We agreed that he should get this out as soon as this is over." Sarah stepped forward, "This is the only way to get there."

Casey looked at Devon and Ellie, "Look, one other thing, even if Wire-for-brains has not remembered, we know you only have a couple more days for you are scheduled to leave. We will need you here to complete this and help. Right now, I don't know how long that will take, but I promise that we will take care of you guys catching up with your contingent. Actually, that will be no problem. I could even copter you there myself."

He got a bump, "Of course Ilsa would be along to help navigate."

Ellie smiled, "I said okay. But he isn't going to like this."

Chuck got wide-eyed, "What?"

"It will be a little worse than needles." Devon responded.

"Great," Chuck gritted. "What do I need to do?" Chuck asked.

Ellie pointed to a chair that looked like a dentist's chair, "Sit over there. Devon will hook you up so we can get the readings. Dad has the machines to monitor this."

Chuck went over to the chair. Sarah went over to be with him. Casey went to the main Castle console to check on the progress of the previous activities. Morgan and Ilsa sat at the main conference table. Devon began to hook him up.

"Okay, the leads are set," Devon said.

Ellie watched the displays. She thought back to her project in the last year at Med School. She was testing some of the breakthrough applications in neuroprosthetics. The one thing she remembered was more was always better. She counted the discs and knew that two were spares.

Ellie began to clean the first area. "Chuck, I am going to numb each area before I put the discs in. I'll be using six discs, the four Dad had planned and the two reserves. It will give you better coverage. Dad has already checked them with his machine and the display will be continuous while I put them in." She pushed hard against his head at the spot she was cleaning. The syringe put the first disc in place. "You okay?"

"Yeah, feels like a needle going in sideways," Chuck replied.

"Okay, I'll add more anesthetic to the area. If I put you under, this will take a lot longer and we may have to redo some of them." Ellie said.

"Fine. Just go ahead and finish." Chuck tried to remain still during the rest. The same procedure was used for the remaining five.

"Okay, that is the last of them." Ellie moved away from Chuck to look at her displays and her dad's. They could see some activity.

Steven said, "The connections look good."

Sarah came over to hold Chuck's hand.

Chuck asked, "Please let me have the sunglasses. That should speed this up a little."

Sarah gave him the glasses. She kept a hold of his other hand.

"Okay Dad, initiate that download," Chuck directed.

Steven hit a key on his wrist computer. Sarah could tell the download had started as Chuck jerked a little. There was a pause but Sarah could still feel Chuck being jolted. Then the screens in front of Casey switched from the reports Casey was viewing to the surveillance cameras at Buy More, then Orange Orange, the apartments, and finally Castle. Next the main display in front of the conference table came to life. The pictures and files from each of Sark's men at the Rome airport were displayed. Then there was a letter from the Director of the FBI to the head of the Italian Carabinieri and Interpol. It was being typed as they watched. It identified the men and the attachments. Next there was a cover letter from General Beckman to the Director of the FBI and finally an email to General Beckman with all of the attachments. It was signed by Agent Carmichael and sent.

"Chuck, did you do that?" asked Sarah.

"It worked. That's amazing!" Morgan exclaimed.

Chuck put his other hand over hers, "Yes, the first part was simple, get into Buy More surveillance cameras."

"It should be, a high school kid could get into that," Morgan said.

"Well, the next steps were a bit harder including getting to Castle's surveillance."

Morgan went on, "But that means…"

"Yes, and it seems faster than what I did at the airport," Chuck pronounced.

Morgan stroked his beard, "So, how do you expect this to work?"

_A/N Sorry for the delays in getting back to this. _

_Oh, we now have an iPad like the rest of the world. _

'_Ne pas déranger' is French for Do not disturb_

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	8. Chapter 8 the Lens

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 8—the Lens

General Beckman was on the screen at Castle. Chuck was still in the dentist chair with Ellie, Devon and Sarah beside him. Casey was at one of the main consoles and Morgan and Ilsa were sitting at the conference table. The General began, "How do you expect this to work? Are you just going to find him or is there more to this?"

Chuck closed his eyes and answered, "Once we have the procedure complete, we should be able to fight this from here. I expect it will take a while to find Sark. Now, this part is a guess but I think the approach will be to locate his people. If I can do that, I should be able to track him from the directions he sent to them. So, like the airport in Rome, I should be able to identify them and bring in the local law enforcement or better to arrest his people. With enough traces, I should be able to identify him. Then it will be a question of how fast can I lock in on him and pass out strike directions.

"I think that he would at some point figure out what is happening and try to block it. At that point he may identify me. From there, I don't know if he would physically attempt to have his people storm Castle or use some other means. But I hope to be faster and already have people knocking down his door." Chuck concluded.

Morgan spoke up, "So this is more like a virtual capture the flag? If we get him first, we win. If he is first, then what?"

"Then we defend Chuck at all cost," Casey growled.

"Do we need to move Chuck to a bunker and protect him from there?" General Beckman asked.

Chuck held up his hand, "I thought about that. I think the movement to a bunker would expose us early. Right now he should think that we are still over in Paris. At least that is the trail I laid for him. I did ask Casey to implement a plan we developed on the way over. It should work and provide initial protection. You should have the plan in an email now."

The General looked at her desktop display. Turning back to the video conference, "Chuck, did you do that while we were talking?"

"Yes, Ma'am. It was pretty easy," Chuck replied pointing at his head.

"Well, proceed. Let me know if there are any problems." General Beckman disappeared from the screen.

Chuck looked at Ellie, "After the sideway needles I am not sure I want to know, but how does the eye surgery work?"

Devon explained this part, "We will put your head in a brace so it does not move while we are doing this. Then we put a couple drops of a numbing solution in your eye. We will be close enough that you will not be able to see it, but we cut through the outer edge of the cornea." Devon paused a second, "Bro, you got to know. We aren't sure that we can get your original lens back in place after we take it out. We will put that lens in a solution to keep it viable. But the longer it stays in the solution, well look if we need to we'll give you a replacement like the one you are getting, only without the download circuits." Devon looked at Sarah, "We'll do our best."

Sarah nodded back, "I know you will."

Chuck squeezed Sarah's hand, "Okay, let's get this done."

The procedure took less than an hour. The most of the time was spent making sure that Chuck's eye had been numbed. The new lens was inserted. At the end Devon showed Sarah where they were putting Chuck's lens. It was another hour before the numbness went away.

Chuck finally felt his eye and could focus on the wall clock and his wrist watch. "Okay. Dad, let's check this."

"Ready here," Steven replied.

"Starting through the test script," there was a pause in what Chuck was saying. "First download complete and flash took place." He paused again, "Second complete." He paused, "Third done. Have you been able to record them?"

"Yes, I have them. Aces, Charles, Aces. That was faster than I thought. The lapse time was less than a tenth of a second on the first going up to two tenths of a second on the last." Steven reached into his back pack, "I do have one other thing for you. The watch can pick up the signals from the discs. It will transmit the instruction and receive and broadcast the results for clearer reception by the lens."

"Great, that will help." Chuck smiled, "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am hungry."

Sarah asked him, "You feel good enough to do something?"

"Yes, I think so," Chuck replied.

"Chuck, did you know you are still sending queries?" Steven look at the other display, "You are getting micro-downloads too."

"I know. It's almost like listening to the TV in the background. I am trying to find out where everything is. So, I guess it's more like channel surfing." Chuck looked at Sarah, "I would like something to eat while we can."

Morgan spoke up, "I'd like something too. But are we going to the mattresses like an old gangster movie or can we go out?"

Casey turned around to Morgan, "You have a point. Chuck, can you tell whether they know about us yet?"

Chuck spent a while before he answered. Steven pointed to his displays. There was a definite increase in activity. It was continuing to go up. Chuck's eyes were fluttering and then in an instant there was a pause and then another flutter. Chuck finally widened his eyes.

"They are still trying to find out what happened at the Ring Intersect facility. And they just noticed that the team from Rome had not reported in," Chuck started to rub his eyes.

"Chuck, don't!" Ellie reached for his left hand. "You can't rub your eye for a couple days. If you need eye drops, we'll give you some."

"Fine," Chuck blinked. "Drops sound like a good idea. But…"

"I know, you are still hungry," Ellie put a couple drops in each eye. "If we are safe, how about that Italian restaurant we went to last time?" She smiled as her eyebrows furrowed, "Maybe you can explain a little about those installs?"

Chuck already had his face covered after the eye drops. Sarah and Devon's faces turned bright red.

Casey picked up the exchange and smiled too, "That should be fun. Why don't we head on over there? Ilsa and I will go with Ellie and Devon. Chuck and Sarah go in the van with Steven and Morgan. You guys head out first we'll cover from behind."

Steven drove the van. Chuck and Sarah sat in the back. Chuck kept his eyes closed on the way over. Steven saw him in the mirror, "Son, you okay?"

"Yeah, still doing some searches as follow-ups to those I told Casey about. There were queries out there checking on what happened at the Ring facility and the Rome airport, but I have not found much behind them. I have been looking for other things, but haven't seen anything yet. And I am starting to get a headache."

"Well, if you don't feel better after dinner, we'll see what Ellie can give you." Steven replied.

Sarah moved a little closer to Chuck, "I want you to let me know what is happening all the time. You agreed, remember? I love you and don't want something to happen if there is anything we can help with."

"I know. I am sorry, I will let you know. So next, I am going to look for something that went with the teams we ran across, the one Cole found and then the other one. So far there has not been much."

Morgan turned, "Say, could you just start from Roark Industries and find out what happened with Sark from there?"

"Good idea, I'll try that too," Chuck closed his eyes and leaned against Sarah. He whispered in her ear, "I love you too."

When they got to the restaurant, Ellie was there with her arms folded. She reached out and got Chuck by the arm, "You will tell me everything. Exactly how many times…"

"Ellie, we are not in a place where we can discuss too much about that. When we get back, I'll tell you everything," Chuck pleaded to get her not to inflict the Ellie pinch.

She held up her hand with her fingers just an inch apart, "I warn you, if you do not."

Chuck remembered all too well, the pain of the pinch. He had many bruised arms for not doing something Ellie wanted when they were younger and even a couple times after their dad left them. "I will or Sarah will explain everything."

"You better. Ilsa already told me what you did for her last time she was here. And Casey explained what was happening at Devon's bachelor party," Ellie pointed at Devon. "All is forgiven for that, but you still have a ways to go."

"Alright, let's go eat. I still am hungry," Chuck announced. He went into the restaurant and to the hostess. After telling her his name, they were shown to a table for eight. Sarah looked at him as they went to the table, he shrugged, "Said I was hungry." She chuckled.

When they got to the table, Chuck, Casey and Devon helped seat the ladies. It was a round table with Chuck, Sarah, Casey, Ilsa, Steven, Morgan, Devon and Ellie seated in that order. When the waiter came over, they agreed to the family style dinner. Chuck had a big smile thinking of what was to come. The meal was started with a Vinetta wine, stuffed mushrooms and tomato bruschetta on a garlic toast. There were two types of salads, then lasagna, ravioli, chicken parmesan, and beef braciole. They were pushing back when the desserts, a chocolate zuccotto cake and a lemon meringue pie were served.

Ilsa commented, "That was very good. I loved that chocolate cake."

Chuck replied, "I am glad you liked it. And I am glad you are here." Chuck took one last sip of coffee. "I think we should hit the road."

"Okay, we'll meet back at Castle," Casey directed. They left the restaurant and split up into the same vehicles on the return.

When they got back to Castle, Chuck sat at the conference table. Sarah sat next to him. Ellie, Devon and Steven went over to look at the displays and the strip charts that came from them. Casey came over to the conference table with Ilsa.

"Chuck, do we just stay here? Or do we go back to the apartments?" Casey asked.

"I have started more in-depth searches. The results will come in as downloads. I'll fix it so you can see the summary on the big screen. But realistically, this could happen in a second, or it could be days," Chuck responded.

"Then let's go back over to the apartments. I'll go with Chuck," Sarah smiled at him.

Steven asked, "El, will it be alright if I stay at your apartment?"

"Sure Dad, you get to make the pancakes." Ellie responded.

"Hey, that would be great. We could eat at your place and then come back over here. Is that alright?" Chuck asked as he turned his head to Ellie.

"Only if you come over tonight and you tell me everything that has happened," Ellie was turned from the displays with her hands on her hips.

Chuck thought that was a good way to get this done. Ilsa would be over with Casey and did not need to hear the whole story. "Sure, that would be fine. Sarah can help fill in the parts that I forget."

Steven spoke up, "Let me check one more thing and then we can head out."

When they got over to the apartments, Ellie got everyone a glass of wine. "Okay, start from the beginning and don't leave anything out."

"Okay. This all started about two and a half years ago when I got an e-mail from Bryce Larkin..." Chuck continued on explaining how he met Sarah and each of the major events.

"You mean Bryce Larkin was in my apartment? I would have…" Ellie exclaimed.

"Well, I think he was really working with Dad. But apparently he was a good guy…" Chuck continued.

"So we spent the next morning looking in the trash…" Chuck was saying.

"Oh, Bro. I did not know that was happening. Wow, that was awesome. Thanks man, I never knew," Devon exclaimed.

"Then we thought the new version of the Intersect was up and ready, so I asked…" Chuck went on.

"So, the good part of Bryce was to keep you two apart? I remember that night. Sarah looked like she was really upset." Ellie said.

"Yeah, I was. We both knew that what Bryce was saying was right…" Sarah began her side. The stories continued.

"So it really wasn't Morgan's or your fault at the wedding? Ted Roark was doing all that?" Ellie asked.

"That's right Ellie. He was threatening to get you so that Chuck would go get him the Intersect cube. There was a fight and Casey and his men parachuted in to the church's reception hall and won the battle," Steven explained.

"Yes, and then my hero put together the real wedding," Sarah watched Chuck shake his head. He still did not want Ellie to know that he spent all of his money.

"At the reception we found…" Chuck began again.

"So that's why you went to Europe?" asked Ellie.

"Yes, and it was a mess from the start…" Chuck related what happened and the problem they had with the Intersect.

Ellie held up her hand, "So, at the dance you were not back together?"

"No, far from it. I was still mad at him…" Sarah continued.

"Ellie, after our discussion I knew that it was Sarah and always would be," Chuck took Sarah's hand and she was teary eyed. "It took a little longer to get everything straight. So when you and Devon went on the get away…"

"We almost lost each other. And your brother saved me. You need to know that I truly do love your brother. It was a hard road getting back together. I wish the things we did, did not have to be, but they happened," Sarah shared.

Chuck finished, "So, that's it. That's how it happened. So, now I got this thing in my brain... the Intersect, like I told you... you know, and... and to make it faster we put in the discs and the new lens in with it."

Ellie came over and gave Chuck a hug, "Now, I understand a little better. Thank you for telling me and everything you did. Aces, Charles Aces." She went over to Sarah and gave her a hug too. "You two are fantastic. I am so happy that you could get back together." She turned to her dad, "So what is the rest of your story. We now know that what you were doing was an act. Ted Roark was evil. What happened all those years Dad?"

"Sweetie, let's talk about it tomorrow. It's late and we'll have plenty of time while we work on getting Sark." Steven put his glass down, "I am going to head to bed. Got to get those pancakes in the morning."

"Yeah well, I need to sleep too. Did you bring those eye drops with you?" Chuck asked.

Ellie went to her purse, "Yes, I have them. Remember, don't rub. Put these in, just two drops, and no closer than four hours."

"Okay Sis, see you in the morning," Chuck got Sarah's arm.

Sarah added, "Yes, see you in the morning. Thanks for listening."

Ellie and Devon saw them to the door. Walking over to Chuck's apartment, Chuck waved at Casey. "What, do you think he listened to all of that?"

"No, I think we would have heard some moaning or a couple growls before now," Sarah laughed.

The next morning Steven had the pancakes ready at Ellie's. Ellie had made coffee, eggs, bacon, and a fruit cup. They all gathered around Ellie's big table and enjoyed the food. Steven asked Chuck, "So how did it go last night?"

"Fine, I guess it has an off switch. When I was really trying to go to sleep, the downloads stopped. Then, while I was trying to go to the bathroom this morning there was a fairly big one. It was all the stuff that had back up waiting." Chuck explained, while Morgan was laughing.

"Well, I did find a way to activate the lens like a regular display. I can get it to work like a HUD. I'll put that on the display at Castle. I did get better traces from the searches. I'll follow-up from them."

Morgan in between a couple bites said, "If you hid our trail, would Sark do the same? Could you tell?"

"Good point, I'll start checking for that. Casey and Ilsa, is there anything else that I should be looking for?" Chuck had a drink of coffee.

"I don't have anything different to go look for. But if none of this works today, I'd say that we set up a trap to draw them out. You continue working your searches. Ilsa and I will get with General Beckman and see we can up with something that Sark would want."

Steven said, "Let me help with that."

_A/N Another good ending point. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	9. Chapter 9 the Trap

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 9—the Trap

Chuck put the information he was getting as a regular stream in a HUD on the main screen. They were reports being submitted by various law enforcement and intelligence agencies. They would stay on the screen for a few seconds and get replaced by the next report. There was a dash board at the bottom showing no hits on Sark.

Chuck was following up on searches from the night before and also looking for any markers that might have been left if Sark was trying to cover the trail of his agents. He was getting a pretty good procedure going. He would send out the query, get the information back in a micro download, and then complete a mini-flash. For the routine things, he set it up so the information would be included in the HUD.

Casey had agreed that since Chuck seemed to be okay that Ellie and Devon did not need to call in sick, they could go to work that day. They were given watches like Chuck had in case there were any problems.

Casey, Ilsa, Steven and General Beckman were having a discussion in the other room. Casey was listing possible prize items on the white board. The idea was simple, make a list of anything that might draw Sark out of his hole. They started with Chuck, next was the Intersect Cube, then the Ring Intersect.

Sarah was sitting next to Chuck watching him. His eyes would close and then when they were open she could tell he was flashing. It continued in the same pattern for thirty minutes. Then he put his head down on the table and she could see him shaking. Sarah knew this could get difficult. They had talked about it the night before. They had agreed that there had to be some safeguards so that Chuck did not get lost in the Intersect somehow. Sarah watched him sit back up and continue to flash. She waited for a break, "Chuck, are you okay? You need to talk to me like we agreed last night."

"Sorry, that took a lot longer than I thought it would. I was going over the information from last night. Then I started another search for data transfers. I had to use some of the programs I had back in school," Chuck answered.

"Okay. If you get into something like that, let me know. Remember our cut off is an hour. If you go longer than that, I have your dad disconnect the interface," her eyebrows rose in concern.

"Yes, I know. You might want to help me keep track of time. When I do this, I am not exactly keeping track of time," Chuck shrugged.

"I could squeeze your hand when you are getting close. Would that work?"

"I think so. I should be able to feel it." Chuck smiled. "We, okay?"

"Yes," she gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Then, I start looking at the search results."

Casey, Ilsa, Steven and General Beckman were in the middle of a discussion on which database would be a worthwhile target, when Sarah came over.

"Chuck thinks he has something," She motioned them back to the conference room.

As they gathered around the conference table and in a split screen General Beckman was on with them, Chuck began to explain what he found, "One of the ways I was doing a search was to find particularly large data transfers. I believe the Intersect should be relatively high with all the images. I was looking for something in the 3 to 5 petabyte range. I found a data transfer, actually it appears to be four data transfers, just ten minutes ago. I was able to get two locations. The first is where the data came from. I am sure that there is a sizeable data storage set up at the location. It is located about 50 miles from the Ring Facility in France. Here's the coordinates." He displayed the coordinates on the HUD. "I have been able to get pictures of the people working in the facility. One of them is prior Ring. The other is a computer specialist that worked at Roark."

Ilsa spoke up, "I could start getting our people over there. There is a station about twenty minutes away."

General Beckman agreed, "Yes please do. So who got the download? And where are they?"

"They on the outskirts of Miami right now. Here's the coordinates of where the download took place. One of the people who got the download was Vincent. The others appear to be drug runners or hit men. I've linked into the available cameras in the area. So, I can follow them if they leave. They will have to go to an airport or some place with security to set up any trap. The airport is a possibility; they are just a few miles from that. If you use someone other than an elite force against them, they will likely be killed." Chuck offered.

"Yes, I know. I'll begin working that. Keep track of them." The General signed off from her side.

Casey stood up, "I'll go help Ilsa. Anything in particular about the building?"

"Not that I saw. I will send you the prints," Chuck said.

Casey showed Ilsa to one of the consoles. After a quick discussion, he picked up one of the phones and called a number for Ilsa. She took the phone and began to coordinate.

Chuck called out, "They are heading out of the building." They all watched the screen as the four operatives got into a black van.

Morgan piped up, "Does everyone use black vans?"

"Morgan!"

"Sheeish," Morgan followed the activity on the screen, "Well, that isn't going to work. They just did an illegal u-turn in front of a police car." Morgan pointed to the police car.

Chuck knew that if the lights began flashing from the police car, Vincent and his buddies would eliminate it. He got through to their dispatch computer. Using the license plate and description of the van his warning said that it contained armed terrorists. All units were to monitor but not to engage. He sent a copy to Beckman.

They watched as the van headed down the street and the police car waited before following. Things began to take their own course from there. The speakers in the conference room came alive with the radio traffic in the area of the van. The Miami police were doing a good job passing the surveillance of the van between marked and unmarked cars. The van had gone past the airport and was heading to downtown Miami.

Sarah asked, "Is there anything that they would be targeting downtown? Any convention or symposium that has anything?"

In another second, the main display had a listing of conventions scheduled for the day. There were two art festivals, a TV soap opera convention, a fashion show, a computer expo, a film industry tech convention, and advanced small arms convention.

Chuck spoke, "My choice would be the film industry tech convention. They could be looking for new imaging technology. The computer and small arms at the other two conventions can be found on the internet. Don't really see anything special there."

"Very good, Chuck. That is the likely target. Doctor Kent Schmidt is on next to present his new Hologram research. It could be instrumental in the future designs of the Intersect," the General appeared on the display.

"I could set off the fire alarm and get everyone out of the building," Chuck offered.

"I think we have it covered. We have five agents there and they have been alerted," General Beckman replied.

Casey added his thoughts, "Ah General, when Sarah and I have been practicing against Chuck we generally come out even. I would recommend that we take them out early."

Chuck pointed to the display, "If they continue on their present path they are going to the loading docks of the building, not the parking lot. There is a pop-up barrier there that I can activate. I can do it just as they get there. The Miami police now have a SWAT team in the area. We could have them send knock-out gas into the van."

"Agreed," the General concluded.

"General, I have a message for you to send. It is to the Miami Chief of Police and will go to the SWAT unit," Chuck looked at the screen with the message being displayed.

Everything was working. The General got an acknowledgement from the Chief of Police. The cameras and the reports from the surveillance had the van proceeding to the convention site. As the last camera picked up the van, they watched the van approach the building and the barrier pop-up just as the van got there. Two canisters were launched into the van. They watched the gas come out of the van and two SWAT members approach the van with gas masks on. They held their thumbs-up after checking in the van. Four more SWAT members came up and they began to handcuff the occupants of the van. There was a small scuffle with one of the occupants, but he was subdued. The SWAT members pulled the occupants out of the van and laid them down on the sidewalk. Four people in suits walked from the side of the building. They displayed their badges to the SWAT members.

The General said, "That's our team. We'll have them coordinate with the SWAT and Chief of Police. Very good, Chuck. How close are the French forces in getting to the other location?"

Ilsa spoke up, "General, the DGSE unit should be at the location in ten minutes."

Chuck asked, "Do you need any help?" He paused a second, "I can display the building surveillance feeds and turn them off to the building's security."

"Yes, that would help. I will let the team know you are doing that. Can you route the video to them?" Ilsa asked.

"Sure, have them turn on the display they want to use. I should be able to detect it. I'll set up the display now, but I'll wait for your team to signal that they want the surveillance turned off to internal security displays." Chuck was concentrating. In a minute the display of the building was on the main screen.

Ilsa turned to Chuck just as the motorcade was pulling into the parking lot of the building, "They would like the internal surveillance to security turn off."

Chuck nodded and in a second, "It's off."

They watched as the DGSE unit got out of the vehicles and enter the building. They got the receptionist to lie down on the floor. Two of their members went to the security room and had the people there do the same thing. Then it was an easy jaunt down to the room where the former Ring agent and Roark computer specialist were located. They were captured without any problems. The rest of the people in the building were rounded up.

Chuck watched as they were paraded before the surveillance cameras. He said he had nothing special on the other people.

Chuck asked Ilsa, "Can you have one of the DGSE members open a port to the main computers? I need to check the files and see if there any pointers to Sark."

After a little coordination and some instruction from Chuck on specifically what to do, he was into the computers. On the initial search he did find files with Sark's name. He made copies of those and sent them off to General Beckman's analysts. There was nothing immediately obvious in the remaining searches.

"Well, I am going to spend a little time making sure our tracks are covered. I don't want him coming after us until we know where he is," Chuck explained to Sarah.

Sarah stayed with Chuck. Casey and Ilsa went to his console and finished with the DGSE final coordination. Morgan went to the other console and after going through several screens finally asked, "Do you have any games loaded?"

"Morgan!"

Chuck looked up, "Okay, let's go get some lunch. Waiting around here for something to happen is not doing us any good."

Casey turned back, "Yeah, we are almost done. I agree." Casey and Ilsa were done in a couple minutes and got up from the console.

Chuck asked, "Where are we headed?"

Morgan replied, "Let's go to the diner on Lake Street. They have good burgers."

Chuck looked around at everyone and they all nodded, "Okay, we'll meet you over there."

Chuck and Sarah went up through Orange Orange to Sarah's car and Casey and the others went the back way to the van. When they got to the diner they took a big booth in the back. After ordering a variety of hamburgers, Steven asked, "So are you getting anywhere in finding him?"

"There was not anything down in Miami. That was some kind of processing center for his people. I would be surprised if anyone got anything out of our old friend. He'll probably keep quiet," Chuck shrugged. "Ilsa, your people may have a better chance at a lead. The computer specialist is the best target."

"They have him for questioning first. We should have the initial results of that in a couple hours," Ilsa nodded.

Sarah asked, "Casey, did you finish the option list before the activity this morning?"

"Oh, we had ideas, but had not gotten to the point where we fleshed them out to see if they were really feasible," Casey responded.

Morgan spoke up, "So if he can do what Chuck is doing, then why would he after the guy down in Miami?"

"I know, that does not make any sense," Steven commented. "The simple reason would be that his version doesn't work and he was going to upgrade it."

Chuck thought for a second, "How about we start where you found them at the beginning? They were connected to the internet and you were able to get their files."

"Sure," Seven pulled up his sleeve and typed a few commands into his wrist computer. "You should have it in a second."

Chuck saw the message display on his HUD, "Got it." He started eating the rest of his sandwich.

Ilsa smiled as she finished hers, "You know these are good with the chocolate milk shake."

Casey smiled.

When they got back to Castle, Chuck continued to do his searches. "Dad did find the site you had. It did move. But I found the markers from the activity. I have searches going now for anything like that."

Chuck was sitting at the conference table with Sarah, Steven and Morgan. Casey and Ilsa were back at the other console.

"Hey Chuck, if there is something wrong with his version, can you tell what the problem is? I mean look at what your dad has and find the problem. Then if there is something that could fix the problem, which would be what he is looking for?" Morgan asked and then slumped back into the chair.

"Actually, that's a good idea Morgan. Dad, could show me where you have it?"

Steven typed on his wrist computer, "There you go."

Chuck leaned back in the chair with his eyes shut, "Okay, this could take a while. You can watch my progress on the main display."

Steven said, "That's good I have a few things to check myself."

Sarah took Chuck's hand, "Before you start, are you okay? I mean are you having any problems?"

"No, I am fine," he reached over and gave her a small kiss. "Oh Morgan, I have a game set up for you in the first room on the left. You should like it."

Morgan jumped up and raced over to the room, "Alright!"

"Say, you might want to check in with Ellie and Devon. Just to see if everything is fine." Chuck smiled, "Yeah, might as well ask what they want to do for dinner."

Sarah nodded and reached for her cell phone.

Later they all heard another alright from Morgan. Chuck held up his hand, "Not yet little buddy."

"Crap, where did that come from!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Chuck, are you playing Morgan?" Sarah looked at him with her hands on her hips.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Yes, I am. But just that last game," Chuck said shyly.

"What?" she was still looking at him.

Chuck sat up and looked at Sarah, "I ran into a piece of Sark's Intersect that was designed around gaming. There was a design spec in it. It seemed pretty stringent. I just wanted to see if I could match or beat it." At this point he was smiling, "I won. I beat those specs."

Steven looked up, "Aces, Charles, Aces. Were you able to find a design problem?"

"Yes, or at least I think it would be a problem. The information he gets from a flash would be in serial. So, I think he would get all the files I do, but they would be one by one. He would have to remember what was in each file and then do a comparison to see what the intersecting data was," Chuck furrowed his eyes brows as if to ask whether his dad understood.

Steven nodded, "Yes, your architecture is different. You'll get the correlation from a set of images. I would not really say they are parallel rather than serial. Your images are pushed into you conscious as one package. I think you know that some correlations are already present, although, I think you add to that. Sark will be slower as he starts from the beginning." Steven paused for a second, "And he is going about the fix in the wrong way. If he was trying to get more data by holographic images, that just means he will get more data to review himself. At some point it would almost be like trying to remember everything so you can write it down on a spreadsheet and see where there is any correlation."

Sarah got into the discussion, "But his agents don't have a problem, because the Intersect skill set comes in one package?"

Both Steven and Chuck said yes. Steven went on, "Good point. So on his initial attempts with the agents, the problem would not have surfaced."

Morgan came around the corner shaking his head, "You would have loved it. There was a guy on line playing against me. He was great. I almost beat him and now I can't find him to play again." Then he looked up at Chuck smiling. "It was you. That is so…awesome." As he walked over to the conference table and sat down, he said, "You know we could just get Sark to do the same thing."

_A/N Another good ending point. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	10. Chapter 10 the Contest

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 10—the Contest

Morgan walked over to the conference table and sat down, he said, "You know we could just get Sark to do the same thing."

Ilsa looked at him, "Morgan, do you expect everyone to play video games?"

Casey growled at Morgan, "Don't start."

Steven came over to the table, "What did you just say?" He looked at Morgan.

"I was wondering if we could get Sark to come out and play a game. That way Chuck might be able to find him," Morgan slumped back in his chair and tried to avoid Casey's hand that was swatting at him.

"Well, back at Roark, Sark was the best. He was the company champion at Missile Command," Steven replied.

"Whoa, then he'll just have to come up against my man, Chuck. Chuck did win the missile command game," Morgan boasted.

"Wait a minute. We couldn't use Missile Command. My name was on the news reports. Sark would easily connect that to Dad and us. We need something else," Chuck said.

"We could go back to the list we were working with Beckman," Casey muttered.

Ilsa looked at Casey, "But wasn't one of the things on the list the idea of exposing Chuck and pointing Sark to Chuck. Wouldn't the game do that without letting anyone else know about Chuck?"

"That would be easy to do. We put the game on the internet to play and develop an on-line game tournament. We can mention that Chuck will be playing against the others, but we would not have to show where he is located," Morgan started.

"Actually, that should work. I mean even if he does not play the game, he would be coming to get me. Either way, I should be able to identify him," Chuck added. "Morgan can you set that up like you helped with the tournament reply for Jeff?"

"Sure," Morgan looked a little surprised.

"Good,but hold off for a minute. I think Sark is out there trying to get information on Vincent and how to get him out. I have gotten inquires on Vincent coming to Miami police from several government agencies. It is all coming at once." Chuck pointed to the display, "You should be able to follow."

Chuck started working the problem._ 'They should be able to see what is happening. I can arrange the displays so that… Okay, here's the queries on Vincent's location. Let's see, I'll order them in a time sequence.'_

The display showed eighteen queries on Vincent's location or information.

'_I wonder if I can determine their origin. Let's see. Some of them are just emails. But they are phishing. They got the right heading but there root history is wrong. Yeah, they don't have the right IP addresses. So blocking the information should be the key. Let me see, the messages were sent in sequence, all within a second of each other. There is the IP address they came from. I'll map those.' _

Another display showed the mapping of the queries.

'_I guess I better tell General Beckman what is happening. She needs to get Vincent and the others moved to someplace where electronic stuff does not affect his imprisonment.'_

A message from Chuck to General Beckman displayed for an instant and was gone. It said to tranquilize Vincent and move him to a location without any electronics, no cameras, no phones, no electronic anything.

'_Ilsa better do the same thing with the prisoners in France.' _

Another message flashed going to Ilsa. It asked her to have the French government do the same for the individuals captured over there.

Sarah started watching Chuck. His eyes would flutter for a second then stare straight ahead and then flutter again. This was going on repeatedly. "Chuck, are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," was all that Chuck got out.

Steven had moved over to the displays that tracked the brain activity and the responses coming back. The graph showed the increased activity was close to exponential.

"Chuck, you need to tell us what is happening," Steven was getting concerned.

"Sure," Chuck said. Then all of the displays became active.

'_Let's see how can I do this as a background job. Oh, the displays should work. I'll put a status box.'_

The main display had video camera presentations and text boxes with notes in continuous trailers. There was a box at the bottom called Status. The first entry was 'Vincent holding facility under attack.' The next was 'Active search for Doctor Kent Schmidt underway.' The third entry was 'Former Ring agent and Roark computer specialist released, blocking exit.' The last entry was 'Sark location under analysis.'

'_Okay, next we'll keep up with Vincent.'_

The video showed Vincent in his holding cell lying on his bunk. Light were flashing in the background.

'_Okay, at least he is still in his cell. Gee, if I can do this so could Sark. I have to Block this.'_

The scrolling text under the video showed:

5:00 Vincent location detected

'_I guess I ought to block the whole facility. I'll just add more fire walls. Well, it might be better if we used that old wall I had at Stanford. Let's see that should be back in my computer. Got it. Just a little modification and it is in place.'_

5:00 Blocked access by Sark to facility

'_Here comes another search from Sark. He is after the Miami Police. Wait, Sark is trying to access the police. Well, I'll just add my new little barricade package. His searches and emails won't get in.' _

5:00 Blocked access to police

'_I guess I better block access to the city before the Mayor calls down and tells the Chief to release Vincent.'_

5:01 Blocked access to City

'_Let's see, who else has guns down there. Okay, simple search with a lot of guns. I'll have to block each of these. Don't want them running into the police with their guns drawn thinking that something Sark planted was real, when it was really a deception.'_

5:01 Blocked access to other Law Enforcement

'_Better take care of our friends in France. Let's see they are still in the facility and being escorted. I'll block the penal system from Sark.'_

In the other corner of the screen, the video of the two cells from France were shown. The text scrolling under that showed:

5:02 Blocked access to French penal system

'_His search got into the DGSE. What is he going for? Arrests?'_

5:03 Sark accessed DGSE arrest data base

'_This should work, a new cipher to get through, and new secondary translation system on the line. That should stop the transfer.'_

5:03 Scrambled transmission of DGSE data base

'_Where is he doing this from?'_

The screen in front of Casey was a rolling list of search results. There was a print of what were Sark's commands and then a search on each of the commands' characteristics. Each positive search was highlighted, flashed and produced an associated data presentation.

'_He'll still want to go after the scientist from the convention. Better take care of him. Sorry for the privacy invasion, Doc. But we need to make sure you are safe.'_

The next screen showed the Doctor at the top. He was back at his hotel room. The screen then had noted that followed:

5:02 Blocked access the Royal Hotel Miami servers

'_Let's see fire alarms would get everyone on the street. Better block those.'_

5:03 Blocked access to fire system

'_I wonder if the Fire Department could get everyone out of the building.'_

5:04 Blocked access to Miami Fire Department

General Beckman's face showed in a corner of the main screen, "What is happening?"

Chuck did not answer. His eyes were fluttering almost constantly.

'_Better send another update to Beckman. Let's see, got Vincent under control. Taking care of the French, there was a data breach. Next, she needs to move her people into position around the Doctor to keep him safe.'_

Casey got up and went to Chuck's side, "General, I think Chuck has engaged Sark. Sark is making a move on Vincent, the French specialists, and the Doctor at the convention. The information on our screens shows that Chuck is blocking Sark's moves."

"Right, his brain activity has reached new levels. It is like he is in some martial arts contest, blocking and striking at the same time," Steven said.

"Does he know Sark's location yet?" General Beckman asked.

Casey looked up at the display, "No, it still says location under analysis."

"Casey, that display is not 'it', that is Chuck," Sarah snapped.

Casey grunted. They saw an email to General Beckman flash on the screen and get transmitted.

'_Looks like he's trying again for Vincent. I'll add another barricade. It should slow him down.'_

New lines were added under Vincent:

5:05 Facility block updated

5:05 Police blocked updated

'_Wow. He's really hammering that line. That's it just keep it up. Come on. I got you.'_

The status was updated with: Sark location confirmed. Location

Sarah pointed to the screen, "Casey, that's just a couple mile from here."

"General, what do you want us to do?" Casey asked.

5:06 DGSE block updated

Chuck came out of the flashing for a second. He raised his hand, "General, we have to go get Sark. We cannot stay here. I have been able to put up barricades or firewalls to keep him from doing things. I can get to systems that are connected to a computer and in-turn connected to the internet. I think he should be able to do the same. So when he finds us, he can start things against us. We need Dad and Morgan to get Ellie and Devon and get out of here. Maybe, go up to your place in the woods. But get away from anywhere that he could direct actions by using a computer.

"We will need back up. His place is in the open but has several back doors and tunnels leading away from it. If you can get the agents to block these exits, then we'll go through the front. I'll turn off his surveillance and we should be able to get in." Chuck concluded.

"General, we may not yet another chance. A frontal attack would be a surprise to Sark," Casey added.

5:07 Fire Department block updated

"Look I don't like to get into your operations, but Sark would not be expecting an attack like that. This will work," said Steven. "And General, you should now know that Sark could go after anything. It is good that Chuck found him and that Sark is concentrating on those targets. His next target could be anything. And we would need more than just my son to keep up with him."

"Chuck can you keep him occupied while you get over there?" the General asked.

"Yes, General. He is still going after his original objectives. While I have not seen any direction to one of his teams, we should start to expect that he has one or more teams heading to any or all of the three targets," Chuck replied.

"Okay team, finalize your plans. You have approval to eliminate the threat," General Beckman said. Her part of the screen went blank and was filled in with pictures of Sark's facility.

Casey looked over at Ilsa, "You know I would rather you went with Morgan, but I suspect you are coming with us."

"Yes, Sugar Bear. I couldn't go all through this and not come with you," Ilsa replied. "You know better don't you?"

"Yes, I know," Casey into her eyes. "If Sark has any one there, we stay together."

Chuck stopped fluttering again. "Yes, his people will have Intersect skills. That means we would be fighting people that are the top of their fighting style."

"Chuck, we will head out and get Ellie and Devon. We'll go to the little trailer where you first found me. That should be okay for right now." He held up a small disc, "this little disc should help you with Sark. It is based on the original drawings and the settings of his enhancements. It should short out the discs in his head and the electronics in his lens. He could still use his Intersect to help him fight, but he wouldn't be able to use the computers or the electronic equipment. You take care Son," Steven gave him a hug. After smiling at Sarah and telling her to be careful, they headed out.

Casey came back from the armory and started to pass out vests and helmets, "Put these on and carry the helmet with you. We'll go in the van and stop right here in front of the building." Casey was pointing to the exterior video of the building.

"Ilsa, I have some other shirts in the room in the back. We can wear them over the vests. Chuck and Casey will be doing the same," she looked at Casey and saw him nod in agreement.

After they got their equipment and weapons, they got in the van. Casey was driving and Ilsa sat in the right seat. Casey had a tactical conference line set up and with Ilsa's help was making sure they had all the exits covered. He told the team that would be in the front of the building to follow them in and cover them.

Chuck and Sarah were sitting in the back. Sarah was holding Chuck's hand. She saw that his eyes were fluttering; she even thought it was at a higher rate. "Chuck, is everything still good?"

"Fine, he is still working Vincent." He turned to her, "Please… well, you know. I love you."

"You too," Sarah nodded.

'_He's still going after Vincent. I've got one other firewall to use. If this does not hold Sark back then we have to physically get him.' _

It wasn't much longer and Casey said, "It's just down the block. I'll stop in front. Everyone go out a separate door. Ilsa and I should be the first to the front door. We will clear and then you and Sarah follow."

Casey pulled to a stop in front of the building.

Chuck announced, "Got through his security, taking over surveillance. Okay, that is on a twenty minute loop. Wait, he's downloading an Intersect into some people. I am going to block it. Give me a second."

Casey was waiting, but the pressure was building. They were already parked in front of the building. One of Sark's men could just come out and find them. They were in the open.

Chuck finally said, "Okay, I stopped it. He'll know we are after him."

"Let's go!" shouted Casey.

Casey and Ilsa went for the door. Ilsa pulled it open and Casey went through first. The man at the front desk began to bring his gun up. Casey shot him twice. Chuck and Sarah came through the front door.

"Okay, shutting exits. He should only be able to come out front," Chuck called out.

At that time three people came rushing out into the lobby, one of them started to bring his gun to bare on Ilsa. Sarah shot him in the side. He turned toward her and was about to shoot when Ilsa advanced and kicked the gun out of his hand. The next man closest to Ilsa started toward her with a knife out.

Casey jumped into the fray and grabbed the man's hand. Bending back on the wrist, the knife came tumbling out. The man brought his foot back in a high kick and knocked Casey back. Casey moved to the side and watched Ilsa deliver a sweeping kick to the head.

The other intruder was a girl. She went for Chuck initially. He blocked her kick and Sarah intervened. She hit the girl with a jab and finished it with an elbow to the head. When the girl started down, her hand went to her weapon. Chuck aimed and shot his tranq gun at the girl.

Casey nodded at Chuck and took out his tranq gun and let the other two have a dart to keep them down. The tactical team came to the front door. Casey motioned to the downed agents. Part of the team took up defense positions, then team started to cuff them and take them out of the building.

Ilsa was going to the door from the lobby into the facility and Casey was with her. She pointed to the cipher lock and Chuck nodded. She pulled the door and it opened.

As Chuck and Sarah came forward to the door, Chuck said, "He has found me. Take this and use it on him as soon as you get close." His eyes closed and the battle began.

'_Okay, he found where I am. You think he would have just heard us out front. I want the doors open. That should do it.'_

As agreed, Ilsa took his hand and Sarah proceeded with Casey. The doors in the hallway were banging open and closed.

Casey yelled out, "Keep them open!"

'_I know. I am trying. Gee I am faster than he is. If I just enable this server… Oh wow, that's him. Guess I better block his access just like Vincent's facility. Got to get him and hold him down.' _

Casey and Sarah were approaching each room to keep the door open and then clear it. They had gotten two thirds down the hallway when they saw Sark. He was in the back of a dark room sitting on a chair. They could see his eyes were fluttering just like Chuck.

'_If I just wrap myself around him by using the barricades, he wouldn't be able to get out. This is working. I have his path blocked.'_

Sarah held out the disc that Steven had given them. She quickly approached Sark while Casey kept his gun trained on Sark. Sarah activated the disc.

'_Wow, he just quit. No, a 60 second timer.' _Chuck shook himself out if it. He looked to Ilsa, "I'm fine. There is a bomb, get out!" Chuck ran down the hall to the room Sarah and Casey had gone into. There were three darts sticking out of Sark. "We got to get out. He has tripped a bomb!" He went up and grabbed Sarah's hand.

Casey yelled into his tactical radio, "Bomb in building. Everyone back away now. I say again there is a bomb in the building. Get away from the building."

Chuck and Sarah ran down the hallway and Casey was right behind. Ilsa was out by the van. Chuck got her hand and pulled both Sarah and Ilsa across the street. Casey was right behind. They were across the street when it blew.

Sark had wired it to collapse on itself. Chuck later said that Sark probably figured it would be a good trap, trigger the timer and run out one of the tunnels. Sark would have been safely away, when the building fell on its occupants.

The building did collapse on itself and the debris flew across the street. Chuck and Casey were covering Sarah and Ilsa. As the dust settled, Chuck helped Sarah get up. Casey did the same. They went over to the van to report in. Chuck pointed to the side on the van toward the building, "At least it wasn't your Crown Vic." He looked around at everyone, "So, we are all okay?"

All three nodded. Casey got on his tactical radio and had the others report in. The tactical team that came in the front with them had removed the four agents. But no other building occupants made it out of the building. Casey coordinated the clean-up with the tactical team that General Beckman had sent.

Chuck called his dad, "Dad, we got him. It is all over. Please head back to Castle." Chuck got in the back of the van with Sarah. He had his arm around her shoulder and said, "I'll have to undo the blocks I put up and some of the other things. I will be just a second, then things will be back to normal."

_A/N Another good ending point. _

_Hope you enjoy. Please review._


	11. Chapter 11 the Return

Let us do something, while we have the chance.

This story diverges from Episode 3.13.

Still don't own Chuck.

"You saved me."  
-Agent Walker Episode 3.13

Chapter 11—the Return

Casey had finished coordinating the clean-up with the tactical team. They had found Sark's body in the rubble and confirmed it was him. Casey had completed his report to General Beckman. Chuck was in the van with Sarah. He had already called his dad and told him to head back to the apartments. He had his arm around Sarah's shoulder and was working on the firewalls he had put in place. He had paused two times and sent General Beckman emails about leaving a firewall in place. His email said that the agency involved was not adequately protected. After a little more traffic, he had gotten approval to leave an improved firewall in place. By the time he finished, Casey and Ilsa were getting into the van.

Ilsa looked back at Chuck and Sarah, "You already?"

"Yes, we ready to go," Sarah replied.

Casey grunted and pulled away from the area. They had to head down to the motor pool to switch vans which added another hour to the trip back. Chuck had fallen asleep leading against Sarah. She was watching him and took note of the time. His eyes were moving rapidly. She had not seen him that way during sleep and decided to check with Steven.

Sarah was anxiously waiting for them to pull up to the apartments. She was worried. She nudged Chuck and he started to stretch. She asked, "Are you okay?"

"Huh, sure. I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, your eyes were moving around rapidly while you were asleep," Sarah answered.

"Wow, I was really tried. Hardly feels like I was asleep." He felt Casey come to a stop, "Well, let's get this over with." He took Sarah's hand and helped her out of the van. They followed Casey and Ilsa in.

Morgan, Ellie and Devon, and Steven were already in the courtyard. Casey had everyone come into his apartment. A duplicate set of equipment had been set up. Steven was over at the console checking on Chuck's data transfers and activity. Steven swiveled around and said, "Son, you sure have been busy."

"What?" Chuck and Sarah came over to the monitor.

Steven pointed to the past half hour.

"Okay, that's just plain weird. I dreamt of playing against Morgan. We were playing COD and I was winning. But I didn't think that I was really…"

"So cool man, you were playing in your sleep? Wow, that's awe…" Morgan began.

"Don't go there. Dad, I don't want this thing to be turned on while I sleep. And I know we should get this stuff out as soon as we can, but can we please do it tomorrow." He smiled and turned to Sarah, "That okay?"

Sarah looked over to Ellie and Devon, "What do you think?"

"Sure, tomorrow is fine. But I agree with Chuck we need to have it turned off while he is asleep," Ellie replied.

"Well, it won't keep you from dreaming, but you turn off the watch and put this in your room. It will block the signal from the discs. And since you won't be sending out any requests, you shouldn't be seeing anything, unless General Beckman send you something," Steven held up something like looked like a thumb drive.

"Okay, that should work," Chuck went over to get the device. "Do we need to do anything else?" He looked at his dad and Ellie and Devon. They shook their heads. "How about it Casey? Anything else?"

"Got nothing," Casey replied.

"Then let's go to bed," said Chuck. They left Casey's apartment and headed to their respective apartments. As soon as they got to the apartments Chuck turned on the device his dad gave him.

As they got ready for bed, Chuck reached over and gave Sarah a kiss. "I am so tried. How are you doing?"

"Fine. Good," Sarah paused. She had to ask, "You are going to get this taken out, right?"

"Oh, yes. But you have to realize, I am not getting the Intersect out. I have not talked to Dad about it, but I think he has not figured out how to get this out. Last time he knew what was put in the Intersect. But this time, I think there are too many changes. He knew about them but not what they were. So, we won't be able to cancel them out. Okay, starting to ramble, but it does not come out," Chuck stopped and looked at her.

She closed her eyes, "Yes, I know. But what if Beckman asks you to keep the discs and the lens?"

"Wow, you know that I don't want that. And I know you don't want that either. And there are a few others that won't let that happen. Ellie, Devon and Dad would likely get me sometime and pull it all out if we did not do it," Chuck shrugged.

After Sarah moved closer, Chuck was pretty sure that was the right answer.

The next morning Chuck and Sarah had dressed and were in the kitchen making coffee. Morgan was just coming down the hall when there was a knock at the door. Casey and Ilsa were first followed by Ellie, Devon and Steven. Ellie took charge of the kitchen and began to make breakfast.

Steven came over to Chuck, "So, did that work last night?"

Chuck looked at his dad for a second, "Yeah, at least I wasn't playing a video game." Sarah smiled. "Before we start breakfast, just so everyone knows, I would rather not talk about getting the discs and lens out. I don't think it will be that much fun and is something I would rather not discuss."

"Okay Bro, no problem. We can talk about what to do next," Devon smiled.

"Yeah, that's right Brother of mine, you said you were going to take a vacation. When is that going to be?" Ellie asked.

Devon piled on, "Yeah, you said you were going to take a vacation after that Paris job. What happened? Do you still have vacation time coming?"

Chuck looked at Sarah and smiled, "So, I know I did not have any vacation for the last three years. I am not sure, but I think you only had the couple days." He thought about saying when her dad was there, but knew that would draw too many other questions. "Casey, I think the only time you came close was when Ilsa was here last time." He walked over behind Sarah and put his arms around her, "Can we take some vacation? Maybe a couple weeks?"

Sarah bent her head back to look at him, "Your right. All three of us have time coming." She smiled and Casey and he grunted, "Ilsa, how about you? Do you have any vacation time?"

Ilsa looked at Casey, "I have time." She went to him and whispered in his ear, "But only if we can be together."

Casey beamed, "Sure."

"Okay well, we'll check in with General Beckman and get this set." Chuck looked over at Ellie and Devon, "Are you thinking of vacation too?"

Devon nodded, "Yes, the last weekend attempt was just not awesome." He looked over at Ellie, "What do you think Babe?"

"Well we are already late for the group we were going to meet," Ellie was bringing breakfast over to the table.

Chuck looked at Sarah and then Casey. Both shook their heads. He nodded, "Ah, you may not like this but we'll have to check with the General about you going to Doctors without Borders."

Steven understood what was happening, "Honey, I am sorry. Well, there are bad people out there. We just got done with Sark, but there are others. They will be after all of us now."

Chuck looked at his dad, "What do you mean?"

Steven rubbed his face, "Others will know about Sark and what he did. You did say that he was trying to sell his capabilities. So others, like the Ring, will know that it is possible. Eventually, our part in taking him down will be known too."

Ellie looked at her father, "What are you saying? That we should run or something?"

Steven was about to reply, but Chuck went first, "Look I can't run from this." He pointed to his head. "It's going to be there all the time. Right Dad? You don't know what was put in the architecture this time, so you won't be able to take it out. Will you?"

"You're right. And without Bryce, we'll never know for sure. So, an attempt like before will not take," Steven replied while slumping a little in his chair.

"Ellie, I think the best way is not to run. But I do think the only way ahead is for us to stay together," Chuck raised his eyebrows.

Casey chimed in, "Look, we can talk this over with the General. But I am sure there will be a way for you to either head back to school or take that sabbatical doing something worthwhile." He grunted at Chuck, "I agree with Chuck."

Devon looked at Casey and nodded, "I agree Hon, let's stay together. I think that is the better idea."

Chuck was a little surprised Devon agreed so easily, but was happy. "I think I should have asked, but was it okay that I had something to eat?"

Devon answered, "Sure, we'll be doing tests for a while. We probably won't get to taking anything out until around noon. You should be okay. Plus we really don't put you under."

"Then thanks Sis, it was a really good breakfast. Said the…" Chuck began.

"Oh, stop it. This isn't going to be any worse than when we put them in," Ellie hit Chuck with a dish rag.

"Needles," Chuck got out while ducking the next swat.

They headed over to Castle. Taking their usual positions, Devon was first to report, "Hey Babe, come here a second." He got Ellie's attention and they were looking at the containment unit for Chuck's lens. "There must have been a power outage."

Ellie turned around to her father, "Dad does your recording show a power outage. It would have been before we got back yesterday."

Chuck and Casey both said, "What?"

Ellie cringed, "Your lens is dried out. We won't be able to put the original back in. We think it might have been a power outage. Or at least to the containment unit."

Casey began checking the equipment at the console. Chuck closed his eyes for a second.

'_What did he do? Sark was here. The time logs match. As soon as we were going down the hall to him, he'd found me. But he still thought I was at Castle, not at his place. Funny, he never tried to get past the firewall here. I guessed the looped video of us at Castle did fool him. Oh crap, the gas lines.' _

Chuck came back with his eyes wide open, "Everyone one out! Now! Move! Get out of Castle! Casey, Morgan, we have to get everyone out of Buy More! Sark found us before we got him. Sarah, you get everyone out the back. Meet you over at the north end of parking."

Chuck, Casey and Morgan went down the tunnel to the Buy More break room entrance. They went running to the main store. Morgan pulled the fire alarm and Chuck was shouting pineapple as he ran into the store.

Casey was shouting, "Come on people, and get out of the store! Get out of the store!"

Big Mike came out of his office to be met by Morgan trying to get a lady out the front door, "Morgan, what is going on!"

"We think there is a bomb or something. This is real. We have to get everyone out!" Morgan was pushing the lady along. Big Mike ran up and picked the lady up and headed to the front door.

Chuck was already outside directing the people to the edge of the parking lot. He saw Sarah and the rest of his family at the north end of the parking lot. Finally he saw Casey come to the front of Buy More holding his thumb up. Chuck motioned to him to keep everyone going.

Jeff and Lester did not follow the crowd. They got in their van in front of the Buy More. They could see Chuck directing everyone to the side of the parking lot. Lester pointed out Sarah and Ellie at the North end of the lot. "You think we ought to leave too?" he asked Jeff.

"Nah, nothing will happen. We'll just wait here. In a second the Fire Department will come, clear the place and let everyone back in."

"Well, you think that. But I hold in my hand the power to blow the place up," Lester joked.

"Yeah, right. We wish. Then we wouldn't have to go back to work. They'd pay us until the new Buy More was built. Not." Jeff reached down to the cooler, "Here have one. It will be a while before they said it's alright to go back in."

Lester looked at Jeff and nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you're right, nothing ever comes of this." He pulled a remote from his pocket, "I better turn off that show before anyone goes back there to check."

Jeff had a can of beer in his hand already and held it high, "Ah yes, to Irene." He smiled.

As soon as Lester hit the button, the explosion started. Their eyes got as big as saucers. Lester asked, "Did we do that?

Jeff in an amazed look, "I don't know."

"Start the van! Let's get out of here!" Lester screamed.

Jeff pulled away to the exit just as the Buy More, the Orange Orange and the complex sitting on the underground tunnels began to collapse.

Chuck caught up to Sarah and turned to watch. "Did everyone get out?" she asked.

Casey and Morgan came up and nodded. Out of breath, Morgan said, "We got them all."

The group stood and watched the buildings fold in on themselves.

_A/N Another good ending point. Going to stop this story here. Chuck Intersect 3.0 will be back later. _

_Hope you enjoyed. Please review._


End file.
